Gold Holds Gain as Fed Done Everything to Prepare Markets

Gold held an advance from a five-year low as Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said that U.S. policy makers have done their best to prepare international markets for the first interest rate increase since 2006. Bullion for immediate delivery was at $1,081.52 an ounce at 8:17 a.m. in Singapore from $1,082.21 on Thursday, when prices gained 1.1 percent as the dollar fell, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. This week, the...

Oil Falls to Three-Month Low as U.S. Supply Gain Worsens Glut

Oil dropped to the lowest level in almost three months as government data showed U.S. crude inventories rose to the highest for this time of year since 1930. Crude fell 0.5 percent in New York after dipping below $40 a barrel Wednesday for the first time since August. Stockpiles rose by 252,000 barrels last week, keeping supplies more than 100 million barrels above the five-year seasonal average, according to the Energy Information Administration....

Aussie to Real Defy Commodity Rout as Fed Defangs Rate Increase

Commodity currencies including the Australian dollar, South Africa’s rand and the Brazilian real are surging as traders focus on the potential for a gradual cycle of U.S. interest-rate increases and ignore a rout in raw material prices. New Zealand’s dollar led gains on Thursday, when the greenback fell against its 16 major peers as minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s...

Asian Stocks on Course for Biggest Weekly Advance in Six Weeks

Asian stocks pared their biggest weekly advance in six weeks, with Japanese shares dragged lower by a stronger yen. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 0.2 percent to 133.71 as of 9:01 a.m. in Tokyo, paring this week’s climb to 1.2 percent. The gauge posted the biggest daily jump in a month on Thursday amid optimism the Federal Reserve’s pace of tightening will be gradual, taking its rebound to 11 percent from a September low. Japan’s...

Japanese Stocks Pare Weekly Rally as Stronger Yen Hits Exporters

Japanese stocks fell, with the Topix index dropping for the first time in four days, as exporters slumped on a stronger yen with carmakers leading declines. The Topix lost 0.4 percent to 1,594.31 as of 9:00 a.m. in Tokyo, trimming its advance for the week to 0.5 percent. About nine shares fell for seven that rose. The yen traded at 122.88 per dollar after gaining 0.6 percent on Thursday. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average slid 0.4 percent...