Havens in demand as a raft of concerns makes waves

Last week was quite busy on the (geo)political front as North Korea conducted a powerful nuclear test, which was widely condemned, prompting even Angela Merkel, the usually composed German chancellor, to state that Pyongyang’s provocative actions had reached ‘new dimensions’.

For financial markets, that was one reason to adopt a risk-off mood, sending duration assets rallying and causing haven assets to outperform.