US consumer prices rose by 0.4pct in April, above expectations centred on a rise of 0.3pct. Excluding food and energy (core measure) consumer prices rose by 0.2pct, in line with expectations. And the US consumer sentiment index rose from 69.8 to 72.4 in May, above forecasts centred on a result near 69.5.

European shares fell on Friday with investors focussing on hawkish comments by European Central Bank Governor Claude Trichet. Trichet urged Greece to stick to its reform plan and not restructure its debt. The FTSEurofirst index fell by 0.4pct with the German Dax lower by 0.6pct and the US FTSE eased by 0.3pct.

US sharemarkets fell on Friday as investors weighed higher domestic inflation, European debt jitters and slower global growth. The Dow Jones lost 100pts or 0.8pct with the S&P 500 also lower by 0.8pct and the Nasdaq lost 34pts or 1.2pct. Over the week the Dow Jones fell by 0.3pct with the S&P 500 down 0.2pct but the Nasdaq was flat.

US treasuries rose on Friday (yields lower) as a weaker sharemarket encouraged safe-haven flows. In addition the Federal Reserve bought US$6.94 billion in Treasury coupons on Friday as part of the second phase of quantitative easing. US 2yr yields fell by 3pts to 0.54pct and US 10yr yields fell by 6pts to 3.17pct. Over the week US 2yr yields fell by 0.5pts and US 10yr yields rose by 4pts.

The US dollar was stronger against major currencies in European and US trade on Friday. The Euro eased from highs near US$1.4340 to US$1.4070, before ending US trade near the session´s lows. The Aussie dollar fell from highs near US107.10c to US105.20c before ending US trade near US105.65c. And the Japanese yen eased from 80.35 yen per US dollar to JPY80.90, ending US trade near its weakest levels.

US crude oil prices rose on Friday as investors covered positions ahead of the weekend. Trading was volatile with investors focussing on European debt concerns, strong German and French GDP results and speculation that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi may have been wounded in a military attack. The Nymex crude oil contract rose by US68c or 0.7pct to US$99.65 a barrel and London Brent crude rose by US85c to US$113.83 a barrel. Over the week Nymex crude rose by US$2.47 a barrel or 2.5pct.

Base metal prices were mixed on the London Metal Exchange on Friday. Copper rose 0.7pct and zinc lifted 0.3pct but other metals fell 0.6-2.4pct. Over the week metal prices fell by just under 1pct except tin which fell 3.6pct. But gold fell on Friday as the US dollar rose with Comex gold futures down by US$13.20 an ounce to US$1,493.60. Gold rose by US$2 an ounce over the week.

Ahead: In Australia, housing finance and car sales data are released. Dulux releases first half results. In the US, the Empire State manufacturing index, capital flows and the housing market index are released. Eurogroup finance ministers meet.