Deutsche Bank's Review of Q3 - FJElite
Which assets saw the biggest gains in Q3?
- Commodities: Q3 was a strong one for commodities across the board. Brent crude oil was up +42.0% amidst the re-escalation of the US-lran conflict. In Europe, natural gas futures were up +66.6%. Metals saw gains, including gold (+3.7%), silver (+3.1%) and copper (+6.9%). And there were huge jumps for some agricultural commodities, including wheat (+16.3%), corn (+21.3%) and sugar (+22.9%).
- Japanese Yen: At the start of August, the US and Japan intervened to support the Japanese yen, whilst the Bank of Japan also delivered a 25bp rate hike in September. That boosted the yen, which was the top-performing G10 currency in Q3, up +3.3% against the US dollar.
Which assets saw the biggest losses in Q3?
- Sovereign Bonds: Higher inflation, resilient growth, and more rate hikes meant it was a tough quarter for sovereign bonds. US Treasuries were down -3.2% in total return terms, whilst Euro sovereigns fell -4.4%.
- French Assets: Q3 was a particularly tough one for French assets, with the CAC 40 down -4.4% in total return terms. Moreover, the spread of French 10yr yields over German bunds also widened +48bps to 127bps, the biggest quarterly widening since 2011 during the Euro crisis.