Following a month of strong returns in July, global financial markets were much more sedate in August, generally recording small gains for the month. The US share market was essentially flat and remarkably, it has now been over 40 trading days since it has seen a move of greater than 1%. European markets were generally stronger with Germany up 2.5% and the UK shrugging off its post-Brexit jitters, posting a gain of 1.7%. Asian markets were generally stronger with China up 3.6% and Hong Kong up 5% however Japan was more subdued rising by just 0.6% as it struggles to implement convincing economic reforms. The exception in this region was the Australian share market which declined 1.6% after a sharp 2.3% correction in the final week of the month. It should be remembered however that our market was up 6.3% in July so some pull back was not unexpected nor any cause for concern. Bond markets barely moved for the month as investors marked time in anticipation of the next move in US cash rates. Amongst the major commodities, oil continued its rollercoaster ride to finish up 8% for the month on hopes that OPEC countries may cooperate with Russia to limit future supply. Iron ore was slightly firmer but gold fell 3% in reaction to the stronger USD. The strength in the USD was a feature of foreign exchange markets, however the AUD held up fairly well declining only marginally against the greenback.