Gold prices dropped to their lowest finish in about four months on Friday night, adding to yet another weekly loss, off the back of the larger than expected new jobs gains for the US economy for June.

It was another weak and volatile week for markets large and small as the taper tantrum again shook bond markets, which in turn rattled sharemarkets, but did absolutely nothing for commodity markets, especially gold and oil which again fell.

The G-20 summits usually don’t have much of an impact on financial markets these days with most economies doing well and Donald Trump’s unpredictability making everyone defensive and cautious.

More gloom on global oil markets on Friday as prices slid for a second day, effectively ending the 8-day rally.

Is this a hint to Australia’s nickel sector, led by BHP Nickel, Minara, Western Areas, Independent group, Dragon Mining, MMG and Celsius – an 18% slide in the price of nickel has forced Vale to start a review of the viability of its operation in New Caledonia in the South Pacific.

Australia is heading for its biggest ever trade surplus according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics thanks to the rebound in commodity prices and the growing pace of LNG export volumes.

The $US17 billion Amazon bid for Whole Foods – America’s biggest organic food retailer – has grabbed all the headlines in the past month, triggering a spate of stories of fear and loathing among supermarket and other food retailers – and then backtracking on the alarmist nonsense as the sources realised its not all doom and gloom.

The ANZ job ads report for June and the latest job vacancies report for May from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) give considerable support to the emerging rebound in the labour market – something many economists, commentators and others simply believe isn’t happening, or else they don’t believe or understand the data.

As expected the Reserve Bank sat on monetary policy yesterday, despite some urgers in the commentary class trying to suggest the central bank might start getting “hawkish” about policy and follow the Bank of England, the European Central Bank and especially the US Federal Reserve.

So where is the Amazon gloom about Australian retailing after retail sales rose solidly for a second straight month in May. As a result the gloom was forgotten and up went the shares of retailing stocks large and small yesterday.

Market sentiment must be pretty thin when a ploy of state opposition to block a key tax measure (admittedly it is South Australia’s controversial state bank tax) is nominated as the cause of yesterday’s 1.7%, $30 billion surge in the ASX 200.

Good news from Asia with surveys of manufacturing showing a pick up in activity in most economies. South Korea’s sector saw the first growth in 13 months, Japan is still growing strongly, despite signs of a slight slowing.

The Reserve Bank’s July meeting later today won’t change interest rates or the bank’s sit and wait stance, despite some silly commentary yesterday by media business economists warning that interest rates could rise – sooner than later, or that the central bank could join the Fed and Bank of England in getting all hairy chested about controlling inflation.

Last week’s wobbles on global markets were explained as investors reacting to comments from a trio of central bank governors about their bond buying (quantitative easing) programs and took them to signal the start to the end of these programs.

In New York, Comex gold prices fell on Friday, for their first monthly decline since March, with a fourth straight weekly fall driven by the surge rise in global bond yields last week (while the fall in the value of the US dollar over the week (but steady on Friday) had little impact.

Australian shares look like starting the new financial year on a positive footing, unlike Friday’s nasty sell off which wiped close to $30 billion from valuations with a slide of more than 96 points.

Start of month, start of quarter and the start of the new financial year, so it will be a busy week ahead for investors and markets here and offshore – punctured by the US Independence Day holiday Tuesday night, our time.

Now this wasn’t the outcome many economists, analysts, oil producers or traders expected for the six months to June, especially after the rise in prices in 2016 and the renewal of the production cap by OPEC countries and Russia in May.

Iron ore prices surged last week, jumping back to close to $US65 a tonne for a gain of more than 14% in seven days, and pushing the price well above the $US57.02 level at the end of May.

Meowwwww – that’s the sign of yet another dead cat bounce on the ASX as markets around the world made fools of local investors who boosted the ASX by more than 60 points, or 1.1% off the back of higher iron ore prices in China and the surge in bank shares in the wake of the positive news on US stress tests.

At age 86 there is no one else in the financial markets around the world whose health is systemically important as Warren Buffett’s.

What a mirage as shares in Australia’s free-to-air TV and radio networks have jumped after the federal government cut in broadcasting licence fees for the next financial year by regulation until a more permanent cut can be achieved in the Senate later in the year.