The six-month rally in risk assets showed little sign of fading this week as investors marked the anniversary of Lehman Brothers’ collapse by driving equities and credit indices to new highs for the year.

This appetite for risk, buoyed by further signs of recovery in the US economy and large amounts of liquidity in the system, also kept the dollar languishing near 2009 lows – which in turn fuelled a rise in gold to an 18-month high.