The US economy grew more quickly than previously thought with the fourth quarter annualised GDP result upgraded from 2.8pt to 3.1pct. The higher growth result reflected stronger business inventory accumulation and spending. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index fell from 77.5 to 67.5 in March - the lowest since November 2009. Inflation expectations over the next 12 months were unchanged on the preliminary figure at 4.6pct.

European shares closed higher on Friday with investors more confident that Japan´s nuclear crisis and the unrest in the Middle East will not derail the global growth story. However news that S&P had downgraded Portugal´s credit rating by two notches to BBB limited gains. The FTSEurofirst index edged up 0.1pct, the German Dax gained 0.2pct and the UK FTSE rose 0.3pct. Over the week the FTSEurofirst index gained 3.3pct - the biggest weekly gain since September.

US sharemarkets rallied on Friday however volumes remained light. Technology stocks received a boost following the upbeat outlook from Oracle (up 1.6pct). The Dow Jones index rose by 50pts or 0.4pct with the S&P 500 higher by 0.3pct and the Nasdaq rose by 7pts or 0.2pct. For the week the Dow gained 3.1pct, the S&P 500 climbed 2.7pct and the Nasdaq rose 3.8pct.

US treasuries eased (yields higher) on Friday, following hawkish remarks by Federal Reserve policy maker Charles Plosser. Speaking in New York Plosser maintained that the US economy was on a much firmer foundation and that the Fed would need to raise interest rates in the not too distant future and begin to shrink its balance sheet. US 2yr yields rose 4pts to 0.74pct and US 10yr yields rose 3pts to 3.44pct.

The greenback rallied against the Euro on Friday following the comments by Fed policy voter Charles Plosser. The Euro fell from highs near US$1.4190 to US$1.4055 and closed US trade near US$1.4085. The Aussie dollar rose from lows near US102.00c to US102.94c, ending US trade near US102.60c. And the Japanese yen held in tight range between 80.95 yen per US dollar to JPY81.50, ending US trade near JPY81.30.

US crude oil prices eased modestly in a volatile trading session on Friday. Concerns about the demand for oil from Japan continued to be offset by the turmoil in the Middle East. The Nymex crude oil contract fell by US20c or 0.2pct to US$105.40 a barrel. And the London Brent crude fell by US13c to US$115.59 a barrel. For the week Nymex crude oil rose 4.3pct.

Base metal prices were mostly weaker on the London Metal Exchange. The drop in US consumer sentiment and a stronger US dollar added to modest falls across the commodity complex. And the gold price also fell with the Comex gold futures price closing down US$8.70 or 0.6pct to US$1426.20.

Ahead: In Australia, no economic data is released. In the US, pending homes sales and the Dallas Fed manufacturing index are released.