Gold Falls as Investors Zero In on Outlook for Inflation

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Gold dropped for the third time in four sessions as the outlook for low U.S. inflation cut demand for the metal as a store of value.

Gains for consumer prices remain tepid, a government report showed last week. While inflation hasn’t reached the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent goal since April 2012, policy makers in December raised interest rates for the first time in almost a decade as the labor market improved. Higher rates coupled with stable inflation erode investor demand for gold, which doesn’t pay interest or offer dividends. The metal has dropped almost 10 percent this year.

Gold futures for February delivery slid 0.7 percent to settle at $1,068.30 an ounce at 1:45 p.m. on the Comex in New York. Trading was about 50 percent below the 100-day average for this time, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Holdings in global exchange-traded funds backed by bullion touched a six-year low of 1,458.19 metric tons on Dec. 17. Assets were at 1,470.29 tons on Dec. 23, the latest data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Silver futures for March delivery dropped 3.4 percent to $13.884 an ounce on the Comex, the biggest loss since Dec. 17. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, platinum futures for April delivery fell 0.2 percent to $882.60 an ounce, while palladium futures for March delivery slumped 1.3 percent to $551.95 an ounce.

Source: Bloomberg

Oil Falls From 3-Week High as Iran Says Exports Priority

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Oil dropped from a three-week high as Iran repeated its goal of boosting crude exports after sanctions on the nation are lifted.

Futures slipped 3.4 percent in New York. Iran’s priority is to boost shipments to pre-sanction levels, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said, according to the state-backed IRNA news agency. Commodities tumbled amid fresh concerns about Chinese economic growth as the Shanghai Composite Index fell the most in a month.

WTI for February delivery slipped $1.29 to settle at $36.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices rose 1.6 percent to $38.10 on Thursday, the highest since Dec. 4. Trading was closed Friday for the Christmas holiday. The volume of all New York oil futures traded was 58 percent below the 100-day average at 2:50 p.m.

Brent for February settlement fell $1.27, or 3.4 percent, to end the session at $36.62 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Prices touched $35.98 on Dec. 22, the lowest since 2004. The European benchmark crude closed at a 19-cent discount to WTI.

Source: Bloomberg

Japan Stocks Decline After Monday Gain as Commodity Shares Slip

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Japanese shares fell, with the Topix index dropping from its biggest gain in two weeks, as commodities shares led losses following a decline in U.S. stocks.

The Topix index slipped 0.3 percent to 1,524.84 as of 9:09 a.m. in Tokyo, with 26 of the 33 industry groups falling. The measure posted its biggest gain since Dec. 17 on Monday on the lowest turnover in a year. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 0.3 percent to 18,824.74. The yen traded little changed at 120.35 per dollar after falling for the first time in five days yesterday.

E-mini futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were unchanged. The underlying measure dropped 0.2 percent on Monday after resuming trading following a Christmas holiday. Energy companies resumed their familiar role as the market’s worst performers, while gains in Amazon.com Inc. and Walt Disney Co. helped mute declines.

Oil led a retreat among commodities Monday, sliding 3.4 percent from a three-week high as Iran repeated its goal of boosting exports after sanctions on the country are lifted. A drop in Chinese industrial profits also weighed on sentiment toward raw materials.

Source : Bloomberg

U.S. Stocks Slip With Crude Weighing on Energy as Year-End Looms

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Gains in Amazon.com Inc. and Walt Disney Co. helped U.S. stocks mute declines led by energy shares, as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index struggled to advance for the year entering the final trading days of 2015.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.2 percent to 2,056.55 at 4 p.m. in New York, as the gauge in afternoon trading whittled down an earlier 0.8 percent decline. This week is shortened, with markets closed for the New Year’s Day holiday on Friday.

While policy makers expect the pace of future rate boosts will be gradual, they have emphasized that the path depends on progress in economic data. Reports this week include readings on home prices, consumer confidence and pending home sales.

Stocks are still defying the historical trend of gains in the final month of the year. Amid a series of sharp rallies and selloffs revolving around investor focus on the first U.S. rate increase in almost a decade, the S&P 500 is heading for its worst December since 2002, down 1.2 percent. The main U.S. equity benchmark today lost its slim advance for the year, now down 0.1 percent after weaving between gains and losses throughout December.

Source : Bloomberg

U.S Stocks Fall With Crude Weighing on Energy as Year-End Looms

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U.S. stocks declined to begin their final trading days of 2015, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index struggling to advance for the year, as commodity shares tracked a retreat in oil following crude’s strongest weekly gain in four months.

Energy companies resumed their role as the market’s worst performers after a one-week reprieve, with Chevron Corp. and Marathon Oil Corp. dropping at least 1.8 percent. Copper producer Freeport-McMoRan Inc. sank 7.4 percent after climbing 24 percent in the prior five sessions. Walt Disney Co. rose as “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” surged past $1 billion in worldwide sales.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.6 percent to 2,049.06 at 12:46 p.m. in New York, giving up its gain for the year after its best week since Nov. 20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 86.77 points, or 0.5 percent, to 17,465.40. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.7 percent. Trading in S&P 500 shares was 44 percent below the 30-day average for this time of day. This week is shortened, with markets closed for the New Year’s Day holiday on Friday.

Source: Bloomberg