The US economy grew at a revised 2.8pct in the March quarter. The flash estimate had the economy growing at a 3.2pct annual pace and economists had expected an upward revision to 3.3pct. But US consumer sentiment rose to the highest levels in three years, lifting from 75.1 to 77.5 in February.

China has revised down its GDP growth target for the 2011-2015 Development Plan from 8pct to 7pct.

European shares rose on Friday with investors encouraged by an announcement of higher oil production by Saudi Arabia. The FTSEurofirst index lifted by 1.2pct, the German Dax was higher by 0.8pct and the UK FTSE rose by 1.1pct.

US sharemarkets rose on Friday on light volumes but fell over the week for the first time in four weeks. The CBOE volatility gauge eased 10pct on Friday but rose 17pct over the week. At the close of trade, the Dow Jones index was up 62pts or 0.5pct with the S&P 500 up 1.1pct and the Nasdaq was up 43pts or 1.6pct. Over the week the Dow Jones fell by 2.1pct with the S&P 500 down 1.7pct and Nasdaq fell by 1.9pct.

US treasuries rose again on Friday with investors wanting to hold safe-haven assets into the week-end. The Federal Reserve will buy US$24.5 billion in Treasuries next week as part of QE2. US 2yr yields eased 3pts to 0.72pct and US 10yr yields fell by 3pts to 3.416pct. Over the week US 2yr yields fell by 4pts with US 10yr yields down by 17pts.

The Aussie dollar and Japanese yen rose against the greenback on Friday but the Euro eased. The Euro fell from highs near US$1.3835 to US$1.3725 before ending US trade near US$1.3750. The Aussie dollar rose from US100.90c to US101.75c, ending US trade near session highs but falling to US101.55c today. And the Japanese yen lifted from 82.05 yen per US dollar to around JPY81.65, ending US trade near its strongest levels.

US crude oil prices rose on Friday despite Saudi Arabia saying that it had boosted production to make up for the shortfall from Libya. The Nymex crude oil contract rose by US60c or 0.6pct to US$97.88 a barrel. And the London Brent crude rose by US78c to US$112.14 a barrel. Over the week Nymex crude rose by 13.5pct while Brent rose by 9.4pct.

Base metal prices rose on the London Metal Exchange on Friday, as investors engaged in bargain hunting after declines in prices earlier in the week. Metals rose between 0.8-2.8pct with copper doing best and zinc the worst. Over the week metals reversed the previous week´s gains, falling between 0.1-5.1pct with lead faring the worst. But the gold price eased on Friday in response to end-week profit-taking. The Comex gold futures price fell US$6.50 to US$1,409.30 an ounce. Gold rose $20.70 or 1.5pct over the week.

Ahead: In Australia, the RP Data home price index, private sector credit and business indicators are released. In the US, personal income, pending home sales and the Chicago purchasing managers index are released.

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