Data released on Saturday showed that China´s trade surplus widened from US$19.5 billion to US$20.02bn in June, well above forecasts for a surplus near US$15.6 billion. Exports were up 43.9pct on a year ago with imports up 34.1pct.

US wholesale inventories rose by 0.5pct in May, above expectations for a 0.4pct gain.

Shipping line AP Moller-Maersk has reported a shortage of cargo boxes, supporting views that global trade is buoyant.

European shares rose again on Friday as investors remained optimistic about the upcoming US earnings season. The FTSEurofirst index rose by 0.6pct with the UK FTSE and German Dax both up by 0.5pct.

US sharemarkets rose for a third day with resource and bank stocks leading the gains. The Dow Jones rose by 59 points or 0.6pct with the S&P 500 up 0.7pct, and the Nasdaq gained 21 points or 1.0pct. Over the week the Dow Jones was up 5.3pct with the S&P 500 up 5.4pct and Nasdaq up 5pct.

US treasuries fell again on Friday (yields higher) as investors prepared for US$69bn in new bond supply in the coming week. US 2yr yields rose 1 point to 0.642pct with US 10yr yields up 2pts to 3.059pct. Over the week US 2yr yields rose by less than 1pt and US 10 yr yields rose by 8pts.

The Euro fell against the US dollar over European trade but commodity currencies and the Japanese yen range-traded over European and US sessions on Friday. The Euro fell from around US$1.2720 to US$1.2610, ending the US session near US$1.2640 but falling to US$1.2615 this morning. The Aussie dollar held between US87.30c and US87.90c, ending the US session near US87.70c. And the Japanese yen held between 88.35 yen per US dollar and JPY88.60, ending US trade near its weakest levels and falling further to JPY88.75 this morning.

US crude oil prices rose again on Friday as investors maintained their positive views on the global economy. The Nymex crude oil contract rose by US65c or 0.9pct to US$76.09. London Brent crude rose by US45c to US$75.16 a barrel. Over the week oil rose by US$3.95 a barrel or 5.5pct

Base metal prices rose again on the London Metal Exchange on Friday, capping off a very good week for the complex. On Friday metals rose between 0.5-2.7pct with zinc leading the way. Over the week metals were up between 3.8-7.2pct. And the gold price was also higher on Friday, tracking the oil price. The Comex gold price rose by US$13.70 an ounce to US$1,209.80. Over the week gold rose just US$2.10 an ounce.

Ahead: In Australia, housing finance and credit/debit card data is released. In the US, Alcoa kicks off the earnings season, releasing its latest profit result. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke delivers a speech.

Provided by Comsec.com.au