As Traders Cashed

(Reuters) - Oil markets rebounded from two days of losses on Wednesday as U.S. government data showed a steeper-than-expected drop in domestic fuel stocks, while gold dipped after a four-session rally and copper steadied near a three-month low. Cotton climbed nearly 2 percent in a short-covering rally a day after the U.S. government forecast record-high global cotton stocks, and cocoa and coffee rose in reaction to a strong earthquake off Indonesia that triggered tsunami warnings in the world's No. 3 coffee producer. Grains were modestly higher, helped by a weaker dollar and worries about cold weather in the U.S. wheat belt, and soybeans eased for a third straight day as investors cashed in long positions after prices hit a seven-month peak a day earlier. The 19-commodity Thomson ...

Gold prices slid below $1,680 an ounce on Wednesday, extending the previous day's retreat from two-week highs as the momentum sparked by expectations for further U.S. monetary easing faded after the metal stayed below key resistance. Traders cashed in gains in the yellow metal after it stalled beneath the $1,700 an ounce level on Tuesday, with selling accelerating late in the day after a COMEX options expiry. Traders are now awaiting fresh U.S. data for direction. Spot gold was down 0.2 percent at $1,676.69 an ounce at 0931 GMT. It is still on track for its best weekly performance since late February, however, after the Federal Reserve suggested a continuation of easy monetary policy will be necessary to support growth and bring down unemployment. "The Fed comments have given much- ...

Stocks fell on Wednesday as traders cashed in after indexes hit multi-year highs on stronger-than-expected economic data. The Nasdaq topped 3,000 for the first time since mid-December 2000 before retreating. The Dow industrials and the S&P 500 initially added to the previous day's gains that catapulted them to 4-year highs. Analysts warned the year's rally has come on light volume, and hitting new highs could spark selling on technical triggers. "There are a lot of people that put in technical sell orders, so that is a possibility," said Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer at OakBrook Investments in Lisle, Illinois. Some traders said comments by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke before Congress also pushed stocks lower. Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR "The decline in euro-area December retail sales confirms our view that private consumption is likely to have fallen in the fourth quarter" - James Ashley, senior European economist at RBC Capital Markets Euro zone retail sales declined unexpectedly in December, said the European Union's statistics office Eurostat on Friday. Retail sales fell 0.4 per cent from November after declining by the same amount in October. USD "The report was much better than expected in terms of indicating fundamental strength in the economy" - Pierre Ellis, senior economist at Decision Economics The number of Americans, who have found a job in January rose to nine-month high of 243,000, said the Labor Department on Friday, pushing unemployment rate lower to 8.3 per cent, the lowest ...

Dukascopy Fundamental Analysis EUR Royal Dutch Shell announced it plans to invest more to boost production. The company reported it would invest 30 billion US Dollars into the new gas and oil projects in 2012 as compared to 24 billion US Dollars invested in 2011. The move came after the company announced the annual rise in net income by 50% to 28 billion US Dollars in 2011. USD US employment surged more than predicted in January while the unemployment level dropped to the lowest reading in last three years, confirming the US labour market is recovering and raising doubts about Fed's pledge to maintain interest rates down by the end of 2014. The number of payrolls increased by 243 000 and the jobless rate decreased to 8.3% in January. Economists earlier predicted the unemployment level ...

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks sagged on Thursday as traders cashed in on red-hot bank and technology shares, while the Federal Reserve's commitment to easy money to help the U.S. economy rebound weakened the dollar. The statement by the Fed, which announced on Wednesday it would probably keep interest rates near zero until at least late 2014 - some 18 months later than the Fed had suggested last year - intensified buying of medium- and long-term U.S. government debt. The yield on five-year U.S. notes hit 0.7538 percent, a low going back at least 50 years. The pullback in bank and tech shares, which have posted double-digit percentage gains so far in January, emerged after a disappointing report on new home sales. Housing-related stocks were among the biggest losers. The sell-off raised ...

Stocks moved lower on Thursday as traders cashed in on red-hot bank and technology shares, while the Federal Reserve's commitment to easy money to help the U.S. economic rebound spurred selling in the dollar. The statement by the Fed, which on Wednesday announced it would likely keep interest rates near zero until at least late 2014 - some 18 months later than the Fed had suggested last year - prompted buying in short- and medium-term U.S. government debt. The yield on U.S. five-year notes hit 0.7538 percent, a low going back at least 50 years. The pullback in bank and tech shares, which have posted double-digit gains so far in January, emerged after a disappointing report on new home sales. But it did not entirely wipe out investor optimism in the wake of the Fed's extended pledge to ...

Gold eased on Friday, tracking a dip in the euro as some investors cashed in gains in the single currency after a short-covering rally, and as markets awaited the outcome of talks between Greece and its creditors. Stocks and other commodities also weakened as appetite for assets seen as higher risk faded. Spot gold was down 0.3 percent at $1,652.16 an ounce at 1506 GMT, while U.S. gold futures for February delivery were down $1.5 at $1,653 an ounce. Gold has had a strong start to the year, rising more than 5 percent so far after a sharp price drop in December. Low interest rates, strong physical demand from key Asian markets and concerns over the both the inflation outlook and sovereign debt are all lending support, but analysts say the precious metal could face some tough headwinds ...

Better-than-expected U.S. and European data boosted the euro and stocks on Tuesday as investors turned away from safe-haven U.S. Treasuries, even as tensions between Iran and the United States lifted oil prices. The pace of growth in U.S. manufacturing accelerated in December to its fastest since June, while a sharp drop in German joblessness to the lowest in two decades helped the euro and fueled stock market gains on both sides of the Atlantic. Asian markets rose after data earlier in the global trading day showed that China's big manufacturers narrowly avoided a contraction in December, though downward risks persist. European stocks closed at their highest in five months on the global data. The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares ended the day up 1.59 percent. U.S. ...