Gold Stabilises Above $1,200; Asia Markets Run Out Of Steam

Global economic turmoil continues to rumble on as major economies seek to come to grips with a changing monetary environment, sagging growth, low inflation, pockets of deflation and uncertainty over the future of Europe post Brexit. Japanese shares sold off after their gains on Monday, falling 1.8% in today’s trading sessions. European shares rising 1.6% this morning on the back of an expectation that volatility in the markets may begin to stabilise, feels more like a dead cat bounce to be honest.

In a wonderful example of poor timing, China is ruffling global security circles by placing advanced ground-to-air missiles in the South China Sea in what many see as an antagonistic move. Russians and Saudis have decided to freeze production of oil, which smacks of desperation as oil output rates are at recent highs and economic demand is lagging so it is likely that such a move will actually suppress prices further.

One statistic we like to follow and we think is indicative of the global post debt binge slowdown is the Chinese Container Freight Export, which is showing a 28% drop since February 2015. For a large industrialised nation like China that is a akin to an economic cardiac arrest. The good news is that the index seems to be stabilising, albeit slowly.