On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia held the official cash rate at a record low of 1.5 per cent, where it has now been for 13 months. RBA Governor Philip Lowe told a parliamentary committee last month “it’s a reasonable assumption that the next rate move will be up, rather than down, but it will not be for some time.” He also expressed concerns about the rising Australian dollar, saying it’s appreciation will likely result in a slower pickup in economic activity.

Also on Tuesday, litigation funder IMF Bentham (IMF) has confirmed it will back a shareholder class action against Commonwealth Bank related to alleged breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism funding laws. In a statement to the market IMF said, “the claim will allege breaches by CBA of its continuous disclosure obligations arising from the alleged breaches as well as misleading and deceptive public statements claiming performance by CBA of its obligations under the AML Act.” IMF finished the week’s trade at $2.00 while CBA finished at $73.24.

AWE Limited (AWE) provided information in relation to announcement by the Government of WA that it would conduct a scientific inquiry into the process of hydraulic fracture stimulation. AWE’s planned Waitsia Stage two development will also produce gas from the conventional reservoirs in the Kingia Formation and High Cliff Sandstones. The Company's exploration plans do not include fracking and therefore it does not expect to be impacted by the moratorium on fracking in WA. AWE remained unchanged and finished the week on $0.46.

At the close of weekly trading, the gold price finished at $1,351.20 per ounce, the WTI oil price traded at $47.48 a barrel, and the Australian dollar was worth US $0.8057. In the US on Friday, the Dow Jones finished up 13.01 points to end the week at 21,797.79. Share Price Index (SPI) finished down two points which should lead to a negative start to today’s trade.