The US Dollar broadly underperformed against its major counterparts this past week, with gold prices seeing a strong rally. A root cause of this was somewhat disappointing economic data from the world’s largest economy. That contributed to financial markets increasingly pricing in a less dovish Federal Reserve down the road.

This pushed down Treasury yields, allowing anti-fiat gold to outperform. A key winner in the currency space was the sentiment-linked Australian and New Zealand Dollars. Gains in Wall Street, such as the Dow Jones and S&P 500, allowed the risk-sensitive currencies to outperform while demand faltered for the safe-haven US Dollar.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices rallied. At +7.5%, WTI rallied the most last week since late March. This meant another up month in August, setting the stage for a 4th consecutive monthly winning streak for the commodity. This is even despite deteriorating economic conditions in China, which is a key importer of commodities.

Taking a look at the week ahead, the Australian Dollar will be awaiting the RBA rate decision and local GDP data. The Canadian Dollar is also eyeing an interest rate decision from the BoC. Meanwhile, US ISM data will cross the wires and China will release its latest inflation rate. What else is in store for financial markets in the week ahead?