A new year ended and it is time to take stock. The trading world moves very quickly especially when it comes to Forex where currency volatility is the host.

We will try to establish a ranking of the best and Worst assets of 2016 including currencies, indices, commodities and bonds.

The best among all the currencies was the bitcoin, which is the best performer in 2016. The intangible currency has had an increase of over 100% thanks to capital controls in China and isolationist forces of the United Kingdom and the United States who have fueled the need for alternative assets.

In second place we find Russian ruble which gained in 2016 thanks to the recovery of oil prices.

The worst currency of 2016 was definitely Egyptian pound. The attempt to stabilize the Egyptian economy allowing to exchange the currency freely in the country has not had the desired result.

Speaking of major currencies in the forex market, the pound marks the worst performance among all, despite the collapse was not equal to emerging market currencies.

Compared to 2015 that was a bad year for commodities, 2016 seems to have gone much better.

Palladium and silver have performed much better than gold that is losing ground in the last period, due to the strengthening of US dollar.

Natural gas increased by 60% in the last 12 months confirming his position of best performer among all commodities.

The oil price has begun to rebound after the long-awaited OPEC’s decision to reduce the amount of produced barrels, but the process was long and difficult. WTI crude oil has slid to below $ 30 before exceeding $ 50 by scoring a good annual gain of about 50%.

Thanks to the recovery of oil prices, the companies in the US energy sector can be defined as the best of 2016 for corporate high-yield bonds.

The worst in commodities industry are unfortunately farmers, where wheat and maize respectively marked a fall of 13% and 1,6%.

Among the best indices of 2016, the best performer was nothing less than Brazil’s Ibovespa index. The rise is mainly due to optimism for the new president Michel Temer who was elected after the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff. The country hopes that he can finally implement some good reforms to cope with the worst recession of the last century and bring stability to the political field.

The stock market of Nigeria was instead the worst index of the year. The economy of the country is preparing to mark the first decline in more than two decades. Higher capital controls discourage foreign investment and the control of the militants in the oil sector.

The best government bonds of 2016 were surprisingly Venezuelan bonds despite the social unrest and the financial difficulties of the country. The Venezuelan bonds are rising on rumors that the government may be looking for an agreement to reduce the looming debt maturities, which would give the country a bit of breath due to low liquidity.

The worst government bonds come from Mozambique due to strong debt crisis and rising inflation.

Thus ends a year full of surprises: confirmed expectations and unfulfilled expectations, the Brexit and the victory of Donald Trump, the events that have made the fortune or misfortune of investors.

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