Gold Slides, But Scores Best Weekly Gain in Over 4 Months

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Gold futures settled lower on Friday for the first time in six sessions after a better-than-expected U.S. employment report buoyed the dollar and dulled some of the metal’s investment appeal.

For the week, however, gold scored a gain as investors viewed the metal as a safer investment against a backdrop of worries over China’s economy and a recent plunge in its stock market.

February gold fell by $9.90, or 0.9%, to settle at $1,097.90 an ounce on Comex. The commodity saw a weekly climb of 3.6%, which was the largest since the week ended Aug. 21, 2015, according to FactSet data.

A closely watched jobs report showed the U.S. economy added a better-than-expected 292,000 jobs in December, while the unemployment rate stayed at 5%, helped extend gold’s decline.

A strong employment report could give the Federal Reserve confidence to raise interest rates at a quickened pace–a move that could diminish the appeal of gold, which doesn’t offer a yield.

Rounding out action in the metals, March silver fell 42.6 cents, or 3%, to $13.918 an ounce, but it still saw a weekly gain of 0.8%.

March high-grade copper ended flat at $2.022 a pound, down roughly 5.3% for the week. April platinum settled at $878.70 an ounce, up $1.20, or 0.1%, for the session though down about 1.6% for the week. March palladium shed 60 cents, or 0.1%, to $493.60 an ounce, ending the week with a 12.2% loss.

Source : Market Watch

Dollar Rises as Above-Forecast Jobs Growth Backs Fed Rate Plans

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The dollar rose after a report showed U.S. jobs growth exceeded forecasts, backing the case for the Federal Reserve to continue raising interest rates this year.

A greenback index touched the highest in more than a decade before paring gains after Labor Department data showed lower-than-forecast wage patterns tempered the employment increase. The U.S. currency also strengthened as China’s central bank set a higher yuan fix and state-controlled funds were said to buy equities, damping turmoil that roiled global markets this week.

The U.S. currency has been restrained this year on concern that China’s slowdown will hamper global growth. Tolerance for a weaker currency in the world’s second-biggest economy is viewed as evidence policy makers are struggling to revive growth. The turmoil has largely benefited the yen, which rose 2 percent against the dollar this week as investors sought the safest assets.

The greenback rose 0.4 percent to $1.0889 per euro and was 0.1 percent higher at 117.84 yen as of 1:40 p.m. in New York. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the currency versus 10 peers, added 0.4 percent to 1,241.74. The measure has gained for nine of the past 10 days.

Source: Bloomberg

U.S. Stocks Tumble as Equities Suffer Worst Week Since 2011

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U.S. stocks fell for a third day, tumbling in a late-afternoon selloff that sent major equity indexes to their worst weekly declines in more than four years, as investors found little relief from moves by China to restore calm to its sinking markets and data that showed resilience in the U.S labor market.

The S&P 500 dropped 1.1 percent to 1,921.82 at 4 p.m. in New York. The gauge fell 6 percent this week. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 1 percent, stretching its losing streak to seven days, the longest since 2011.

A report today showed a 292,000 gain in jobs last month, exceeding the highest forecast in a Bloomberg survey, after a 252,000 increase in November that was stronger than previously estimated, with the unemployment rate holding at a seven-year low.

Worries over contagion from China had lessened Friday after officials set a higher yuan reference rate, suspended a controversial circuit breaker system that had halted stock trading twice since it was implemented at the start of the week and directed state-controlled funds to buy local shares. U.S. equities dropped more than 2 percent yesterday, with China’s sinking yuan bolstering concern that weakness in the world’s second-largest economy will spread. American shares erased almost $2 trillion in value this week.

The S&P 500 has fallen 7.3 percent through Thursday since Fed raised interest rates last month for the first time in nearly a decade. The central bank balked at boosting borrowing costs in September in part due to turbulence sparked by China’s August currency devaluation. The poor start to 2016 has left the benchmark index 9.8 percent below its all-time high set in May after coming within 1 percent of the record as recently as November.

Source : Bloomberg

U.S. Stocks Fluctuate, Oil Resumes Slide as China Soothing Fades

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U.S. stocks fluctuated and crude traded near a 12-year low as the calming effects of China’s attempts to shore up financial markets faded. Treasuries headed for the biggest weekly advance in a month and the U.S. dollar strengthened.

Global shares retreated for a fifth day, as oil briefly fell below $33 a barrel in New York. Energy producers led declines among U.S. equities, which are mired in the worst start to a year on record. European stocks capped the worst week in more than four years even as Chinese authorities moved to stabilize the yuan and quell turmoil in financial markets.

Volatility in Chinese markets spurred a global selloff in riskier assets as concern deepened over the ruling Communist Party’s ability to manage an economic slowdown. U.S. payroll growth surged in December, capping the second-best year for American workers since 1999. While that was further evidence of a resilient job market that prompted the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates, wages grew slower than forecast, adding to disinflation concerns stoked by plunging commodities prices.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.3 percent at 12:22 p.m. in New York, after earlier sliding as much as 0.5 percent. The gauge ended the first four days of 2016 lower by 4.9 percent, its worst start in data going back to 1928.

Source: Bloomberg

European Stocks Fall, Capping Worst Week Since 2011 as Oil Drops

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European stocks tumbled in volatile trading, capping their worst week since August 2011, as a decline in energy companies outweighed better-than-expected U.S. jobs data.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 1.5 percent to 341.35 at the close, after swinging between gains and losses for most of the day. The gauge rose in early trading after China’s introduction of measures to stabilize its markets boosted global equities, before sliding oil stocks dragged it lower. A rally of as much as 0.9 percent after the U.S. report didn’t last long.

The Stoxx 600 slipped 6.7 percent this week, its worst weekly decline since August 2011, as cuts to the yuan’s reference rate stoked concern that Chinese growth is slowing more than previously forecast. The VStoxx Index measuring volatility expectations in euro-area shares posted its biggest weekly advance since April.

Source: Bloomberg