Gold Steps Higher, Taking Cues from Softer Dollar

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Gold futures moved higher in early trade Wednesday, tracking a slide in the U.S. dollar.

February gold gained $6.70, or 0.6%, to $1,082.80 an ounce.

The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, -0.73% was 0.6% lower Wednesday, retreating after earlier moves drove the buck higher on expectations of an increase in benchmark interest rates by the Federal Reserve as soon as next week. The Federal Open Market Committee concludes its two-day monetary policy meeting Dec. 16.

A weaker dollar lifts the appeal of dollar-denominated precious metals like gold, making them less expensive to buyers using other monetary units.

After tumbling to a low of $1,046 an ounce in early December, gold prices have held relatively steady in the face of expectations of a rate hike, which can diminish the attractiveness of assets that don’t bear a yield.

A risk of investors covering some of their negative bets against gold might provide a bounce higher, market strategists have said.

Meanwhile, March silver picked up 19 cents, or 1.3%, to trade at $14.31 an ounce, after closing down 1.5% on Tuesday.

Source: MarketWatch

Oil Halts Decline Near Six-Year Low Before U.S. Inventory Data

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Oil halted its decline near the lowest price in more than six years before weekly U.S. crude inventory and production data.

Futures rose as much as 2.4 percent in New York after losing 8.7 percent in the past three days, with OPEC having effectively abandoned its output target at a Dec. 4 meeting. U.S. stockpiles probably increased by 1.3 million barrels for an 11th week of gains, a Bloomberg survey showed before government data Wednesday. The industry-funded American Petroleum Institute was said to have reported Tuesday a 1.9 million drop in supplies.

Oil is trading near levels last seen during the global financial crisis as Saudi Arabia leads the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to maintain output and defend market share against higher-cost producers, fueling a record supply glut. Pipeline owner Kinder Morgan Inc. said Tuesday it’s cutting its full-year dividend to conserve cash amid the price slump.

West Texas Intermediate for January delivery climbed as much as 88 cents to $38.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $37.74 at 12:53 p.m. London time. The contract decreased 14 cents to $37.51 on Tuesday, the lowest close since February 2009. The volume of all futures traded was about 29 percent above the 100-day average.

Source: Bloomberg

Asian Stocks Decline as Jump in Yen Weighs on Japanese Exporters

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Asian stocks fell, with the benchmark index set to extend a two-month low, as the yen’s biggest gain in three months weighed on Japanese exporters and health-care shares declined.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid 0.3 percent to 129.67 as of 9:01 a.m. in Tokyo, poised for its lowest close since Oct. 6, as health-care and consumer shares led losses. Japan’s Topix index dropped 0.8 percent after the yen jumped 1.2 percent against the dollar on Wednesday, the most since Sept. 1. The regional equity measure is on course for its worst week since September, fueled by a rout in commodities and concern about decelerating Chinese growth, just days before the Federal Reserve decides whether to raise U.S. interest rates for the first time since 2006.

U.S. crude eventually extended losses on Wednesday, closing down 0.9 percent at $37.16 a barrel after earlier rising as much as 4 percent. It climbed 0.7 percent to $37.40 per barrel today. The dollar fell for the first time in four days on Wednesday as the commodity selloff moderated, boosting the currencies of some resource-exporting nations and the yen.

Source: Bloomberg

Japan Stocks Sink Third Day as Yen Surges Most in Three Months

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Japanese stocks fell for a third day after the yen jumped against the dollar by the most in three months, damping the outlook for exporters.

The Topix index retreated 0.7 percent to 1,544.13 as of 9:02 a.m. in Tokyo, headed for the lowest close in a month as all but one of the gauge’s 33 industry groups fell. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 1 percent to 19,107.02 The yen traded at 121.59 per dollar after soaring 1.2 percent on Wednesday, the most since Sept. 1. Crude oil resumed its decline in the U.S. amid ongoing concerns of a global supply glut.

E-mini futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.3 percent after the underlying measure lost 0.8 percent on Wednesday to close at its lowest level in a month.

Source: Bloomberg

U.S. Stocks Fluctuate After Two-Day Selloff as Crude Rebounds

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U.S. stocks fluctuated following two days of declines, as crude oil paced a rebound among commodity shares and investors weighed the prospects for global growth.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.2 percent to 2,059.07 at 9:33 a.m. in New York, declining for the fifth time in six sessions.

Stocks fell Tuesday as weak trade data from China rekindled worry the slowdown there will spread -- a concern that sparked the summer rout in equities. Attention has refocused on global growth as the Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise interest rates one week from today for the first time since 2006. Traders are pricing in an 80 percent chance the central bank will lift off at the conclusion of its two-day meeting on Dec. 16.

Investors are watching economic data for evidence that the U.S. recovery is sturdy enough to withstand higher borrowing costs. A report today is forecast to show growth in wholesale inventories slowed in October. Data on retail sales, producer prices and consumer sentiment are due at the end of this week.

The S&P 500 is more than 3 percent away from its all-time high set in May, after a Dec. 1 rally brought it to within 1.4 percent of the record. The benchmark has rebounded more than 10 percent from an August low, bolstered by gains of at least 13 percent in technology and consumer discretionary shares.

Source : Bloomberg