The ASX All Ords was on track for a stellar December prior to the emergence of a new cluster of COVID-19 cases in Sydney’s northern beaches on 9 December 2020, which saw markets tempering expectations of a swift recovery. Despite this, the ASX All Ords returned 1.75% in December 2020. Markets were buoyed by strong commodity prices; iron ore rose 20.0% over the month and is up an astounding 152.9% since its April lows, driven by strong demand from China and supply disruptions in Brazil. The surge in commodity prices and overall weakness in the US dollar has seen the Australian dollar trade to $0.76, levels not seen since 2018.
