Financial Market Wrap Up for July 2015:

• The RBA kept the overnight cash rate at 2.00% at both July and August meetings.

• In fixed income, the 3 Month Bank Bill Swap Rate and the 10 Year Australian Bond Rate fell by -0.02% and -0.26%, respectively, over the month.

• Australian Shares posted strong returns, with the All Ordinaries Index and the S&P/ASX 200 Index gaining 4.23% and 4.40%, respectively, over the month.

• AREITs experienced stronger gains than the broader equity market, with the ASX 300 Property Index increasing by 5.64%.

• Regional equity markets around the globe underperformed domestic equities, with the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index the worst performer, falling by -6.15%,.

• The UK FTSE 100 Index and The European STOXX 50 Index gained 2.69% and 3.95%, respectively, in July to be the best performing regional markets.

• Commodity prices fell, as indicated by -3.73% decline in the US$ CRB Spot Commodity Index. Oil prices were hit the hardest, falling by -20.77%, as measured by the US$ Texas Crude Oil Price Index.

• The Australian Dollar depreciated against most major currencies. In particular, it fell by -5.03% against the US Dollar,-2.85% against the Euro, -4.34% versus the British Pound and -3.66% against the Japanese Yen.

• The Australian Trade Weighted Index (TWI) fell from 63.80 to 61.40 points over the month, indicating a drop in Australia’s international competitiveness.

• Share market volatility fell both domestically and abroad, with the S&P/ASX 200 Volatility Index and the US VIX Volatility Index decreasing by -6.11% and -5.35%, respectively.