Gold Trades Below 12-Week High; Growth Weighed With U.S. Rates

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Palladium futures slid the most in seven months and silver fell from a four-week high as concerns of a global economic slowdown spurred a rout in metals used in industrial products. Gold touched the highest since October.

The Bloomberg Commodity Index of 22 raw materials slid to a 12-year low today, led by a plunge in copper, after the World Bank cut its forecast for global growth this year. Palladium is mostly used with platinum in catalytic converters that help curb harmful emissions from cars, while silver goes into items ranging from electronics to solar panels.

Palladium futures for March delivery dropped 4.3 percent to settle at $780.65 at 1:07 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the biggest drop for a most-active contract since June 12. Platinum futures for April delivery declined 0.7 percent to $1,239 an ounce.

Gold futures for February delivery rose less than 0.1 percent to $1,234.50 an ounce on the Comex, after reaching $1,244.60, the highest since Oct. 23.

Source: Bloomberg

Dollar Falls to 4-Week Low as Retail Sales Drop; Real Rises

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The dollar dropped to its lowest level in four weeks against the yen as retail sales in the U.S. slumped in December by the most in almost a year, pushing back the timeline for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.

Japan™s currency rose against most of its major peers as investors sought haven assets on concern steep declines in stocks and commodities signal the global economy is slowing. Government-bond yields tumbled globally. Russia™s ruble dropped for a fourth day. Brazil™s real rose as retail sales topped forecasts. Traders now expect the first Fed interest-rate increase to come in December.

The yen appreciated 0.8 percent to 117 per dollar at 1:18 p.m. New York time, after being at 116.07, the strongest since Dec. 16. It climbed 0.7 percent to 137.88 per euro, extending its advance to a fifth day, the longest streak since June. The euro added 0.1 percent to $1.1784 after it touched $1.1727, the least since December 2005.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the U.S. currency against 10 major peers, dropped 0.2 percent to 1,141.12. It closed at 1,147.54 on Jan. 8, the highest in data going back to 2004.

Source: Bloomberg

Gold Trades Below 12-Week High; Growth Weighed With U.S. Rates

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U.S. stocks fell, sending the Standard & Poor™s 500 Index to a fourth straight loss, as a decline in American retail sales and slump in copper prices spurred concern that global growth is slowing.

Equities pared losses during the afternoon after oil prices wiped out a drop of 1.9 percent and proceeded to rally almost 7 percent, while the Federal Reserve™s Beige Book said the U.S. economy continued to expand last month.

The S&P 500 dropped 0.6 percent to 2,011.29 at 4 p.m. in New York, trimming an earlier decline of 1.7 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 187.30 points, or 1.1 percent, to 17,426.38. Trading in S&P 500 companies was 38 percent above the 30-day average for this time of the day.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc., the largest publicly-traded copper producer, dropped 11 percent as the metal™s price plunged 5.3 percent. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lost 3.5 percent after fourth-quarter profits slumped, while an index of banks tumbled 10 percent from a December high. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. retreated 3.1 percent as the World Bank lowered its outlook for the global economy.

After going through all of 2014 without a losing streak of more than three days, the S&P 500 today completed its second slide of at least four straight days in the past 11 sessions. The gauge has tumbled 3.8 percent in that period.

Source: Bloomberg

U.S. Stocks Slide, Global Bonds Rally as Copper Sinks; Yen Gains

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U.S. stocks fell, while bonds rallied around the world as a deepening commodities rout and an unexpected drop in American retail sales fueled concern growth is slowing. Copper sank the most since 2011 and the yen rose.

The Standard & Poor™s 500 Index slid 1.2 percent at 12:45 p.m. in New York, for a four-day slide of 3 percent. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. tumbled 12 percent extending its rout this week to 21 percent, while energy shares headed for the lowest close in two years. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped as Rio Tinto Group and BHP Billiton Ltd., the world™s largest mining companies, fell at least 4 percent. Copper tumbled 5.2 percent and U.S. crude erased gains after government inventory data. The yen rose versus its 16 major peers, while 30-year Treasury yields slid to a record.

Retail sales fell last month in a broad-based retreat that will probably prompt economists to cut growth forecasts. Commodity prices are tumbling as a supply glut collides with waning demand, reducing earnings prospects for producers and increasing the appeal of bonds as inflation slows. The World Bank cut its global growth outlook, citing weak expansions in Europe and China. U.S. financial shares sank after JPMorgan Chase & Co.™s earnings retreated.

Source: Bloomberg

European Stocks Fall as Drop in Miners, Oil Shares Outweigh ECB

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European stocks fell from a five-week high as energy and mining shares followed commodity prices lower on global-growth concern.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 1.5 percent to 339.67 at the close of trading. The benchmark earlier pared losses after an aide to the European Union™s top court said a bond-buying program by the region™s central bank via outright monetary transactions is œin principle in line with the bloc™s treaty.

Oil producers and basic-resources companies posted the biggest losses among all 19 industry groups as Brent prices slid for a fifth day, while copper tumbled to a 5 1/2-year low. Rio Tinto Group and BHP Billiton Ltd., the world™s largest mining companies, fell at least 4 percent. BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc slipped more than 3 percent.

Source: Bloomberg