The Group of Seven nations intervened in currency markets on Friday to reduce the value of the Japanese yen - the first co-ordinated intervention since 2000. A strong yen would hamper economic recovery in Japan.

The People´s Bank of China has again lifted bank reserve requirements by 50 basis points.

Coalition forces began air strikes against Libya over the weekend.

European shares rose modestly on Friday after the Libyan government declared a ceasefire in attacks on rebel forces. The FTSEurofirst index rose by 0.2pct, the German Dax edged 0.1pct higher and the UK FTSE gained by 0.4pct.

US sharemarkets rose on Friday, but finished off their highs, in response to encouraging corporate news. Bank shares rose after JP Morgan Chase announced it would increase its dividend from 5c to 25c a share. Shares in Cisco rose after it said it would pay a dividend for the first time. The Dow Jones index rose by almost 84pts or 0.7pct with the S&P 500 higher by 0.4pct and the Nasdaq gained 7.6pts or 0.3pct. Over the week the Dow Jones fell by 1.5pct with the S&P 500 down 1.9pct and Nasdaq lost 2.7pct.

US treasuries were little-changed on Friday. Investors were keen to square positions given the potential for geopolitical developments over the weekend. US 2yr yields were flat at 0.58pct and US 10yr yields lifted 1pt to 3.27pct. Over the week US 2yr yields fell by 5pts and US 10yr yields fell up by 13pts.

Despite intervention by the Group of Seven nations, the Japanese yen continued to strengthen during US trade. The Japanese yen rose from 81.90 yen per US dollar to JPY80.50, ending near JPY80.75. The Euro lifted from lows near US$1.4040 to close US trade near the day´s highs around US$1.4180. And the Aussie dollar rose from lows near US98.90c in European trade to US99.75c, ending near session highs. The Aussie has fallen to US99.50c today.

US crude oil prices fell for the first day in three after Libya announced a ceasefire. But instability in the Middle East tempered selling. The Nymex crude oil contract fell by US35c or 0.3pct to US$101.07 a barrel. And the London Brent crude fell by US97c to US$113.93 a barrel. Over the week Nymex crude fell by 9 cents while Brent lost 11 cents.

Base metal prices were mixed on the London Metal Exchange on Friday. Copper and zinc fell up to 0.5pct but other metals rose with nickel up 3.2pct. Over the week metals rebounded from previous week losses, gaining between 1.0-10.6pct. Lead did best with aluminium up the least. The gold price rose for the third day on Friday on investor uncertainty about the situation in Iraq. The Comex gold futures price rose by US$11.90 an ounce to US$1,416.10. Gold fell by US$5.70 an ounce over the week.

Ahead: In Australia, data on imports is released. In the US, existing home sales figures are issued.