September offered plenty of economic news and central bank decisions for investment professionals to unpick and digest. There were indications that we might be reaching an inflection point in the ongoing interest rate hiking cycle from developed market central banks.

It was another difficult month for both equities and bonds, as most major markets were down and bond yields moved higher. The notable exception was the FTSE 100, which delivered a healthy positive return. Given the disproportionate influence of energy stocks on the index, this should come of little surprise as the price of oil spiked at over $90 per barrel.

August was dominated by inflation and interest rate expectations as well as renewed stress in the Chinese property sector. It was a largely difficult month for markets. Bond yields continued to creep up, perhaps reflecting the potential impact on inflation.

Inflation watch continues, and is likely to for some time. Any variation from predictions, pushes interest rate expectations onto a new path, and in turn, markets.