September wealth update: Should the Ryder Cup team negotiate Brexit?

For all golf and sport (in general) fans, September ended with an emphatic Ryder Cup win for Europe over the United States of America.  Looking at the comradery of the team in blue, it might be more beneficial if they were leading the Brexit discussions and negotiations.

In any event, the FTSE 100 was relatively benign in September, ending the month at 7,510.20, which was 1.0% higher than the August closing figure of 7,432.42.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s performance was up 1.9%, closing September at 26,458.31.

In terms of £ Sterling, it ended September at 1.30 US Dollars.  This was 0.6% higher than the closing figure at the end of August.

Against the Euro, it was a similar story with £ Sterling ending September at 1.12 Euros, which was 0.6% higher than the August closing figure.

Inflation, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH), was 2.4% in August 2018 (this is August’s data which is reported in September). This was up from 2.3% the previous month.  The 12-month rate for the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rate which excludes owner occupied housing costs and council tax was 2.7% in August 2018, up from 2.5% in July 2018.

The Bank of England maintained interest rates at 0.75% in September following the increase in August.  This means long-suffering deposit savers continue to lose money in real terms when you consider the rate of savings interest compared to the rate of inflation.

Past performance is not a guide to future performance. The value of an investment and any income from it can fall as well as rise as a result of market and currency fluctuations.

You may not get back the amount you originally invested.