Aversion To Lift The Dollar

(Reuters) - Gold fell towards $1,550 an ounce in Europe, pressured by concerns that a European Union meeting later on Wednesday would fail to significantly ease worries over the euro zone debt crisis which lifted the dollar to a 21-month high against the euro. The dollar, along with German bond futures, benefited from a flight from riskier assets, including stocks and commodities such as copper and oil. Spot gold was down 0.1 percent at $1,555.50 an ounce at 0930 GMT while U.S. gold futures for June delivery were down $20.60 an ounce at $1,556.00. "Gold is acting more as a risky asset, and everything is tumbling this morning ahead of this informal finance ministers meeting, where nothing good is really expected," Societe Generale analyst Robin Bhar said. "It is not inconceivable that ...

The euro rallied from a four-month low against the dollar on Friday as investors pared bets against the single currency after a more than 3 percent drop this month, but concerns about Greece and Spain were likely to keep it under pressure. Positioning ahead of the weekend meeting of the Group of 8 major industrialized nations and technical support also helped, traders said, as the euro approached its January low of $1.2623. Gains accelerated after a wave of stops were triggered in the euro's grind higher. Despite Friday's rebound, investors preferred the relative safety of the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen as worries about Europe persisted after Moody's cut the credit ratings of 16 Spanish banks late on Thursday. Some traders said investors were wary of placing bets ahead of the ...

The euro rose from a four-month low against the dollar on Friday as investors pared bets against the single currency after a 4 percent drop this month but concerns about Greece and Spain were likely to keep it under pressure. Technical support also helped, traders said, as the euro approached its January low of $1.2623. A break beneath that would opened the door to a slide toward the 2010 lows around $1.1875. Despite Friday's gains, investors preferred the relative safety of the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen as worries about Europe persisted after Moody's cut the credit ratings of 16 Spanish banks on Thursday. Some traders had earlier said the euro's recent decline could slow, given investors may be wary of holding positions over the weekend when leaders of the G8 major industrial ...

Gold prices rose more than 1 percent on Friday, building on the previous session's hefty gains, as a recovery in the euro prompted some buying of the precious metal, with shorts covering amid expectations prices could rise further. Gold posted its biggest one-day gain since January 25 on Thursday, recovering some ground lost during its longest run of losses in five months. Its reversal has put it on track to end the week 0.4 percent higher. Spot gold was up 1 percent at $1,589.16 an ounce at 1148 GMT, having earlier touched a high of $1,594.10, while U.S. gold futures for June delivery were up $14.40 an ounce at $1,589.30. The euro recovered from a four-month lows against the dollar to move into positive territory, taking some pressure off gold, though concerns over a Greek euro exit ...

Asian shares fell more than 3 percent, the biggest one-day drop in six months, and the dollar rose broadly on Wednesday after efforts to form a new government in Greece collapsed, fuelling fears that a second election in June could precipitate Athens' exit from the euro zone and deepen the bloc's debt crisis. European shares were expected to extend losses as well, with financial spreadbetters predicting that major European markets .FTSE .FCHI .GDAXI would open down as much as 1 percent. U.S. stock futures were down 0.2 percent. .EU .L .N Investors continued to reduce positions in riskier assets, leading to a fall of more than $1 in oil prices and a drop to a 4-month low for spot gold, while lifting the dollar which tends to be seen as safe haven in times of heightened uncertainty. MSCI' ...

Gold prices fell to a four-month low on Friday as worries over the financial health of Greece and Spain and huge trading losses for JPMorgan hurt stock markets and the euro, prompting investors to seek refuge in the dollar. Investors liquidated gold holdings to cover losses on other markets, analysts said, as a rise in risk aversion sparked selling across assets seen as higher risk, while lifting the U.S. currency and safe-haven German Bunds. Spot gold slid to $1,573.29 an ounce, its weakest since January 3, after support gave way at $1,579, and was down 0.7 percent at $1,582.19 an ounce at 1145 GMT. Prices pared the worst of their losses as hopes that a Greek government may be formed soon lifted the euro from lows, but spot prices were still down nearly 4 percent so far this week, ...

(Reuters) - Gold prices slipped back towards $1,550 an ounce on Friday, ending the metal's three-session rally, as a ratings downgrade of debt-laden Spain pressured the euro, and consumers in major Asian bullion-buying centers shunned the precious metal. Spot gold was down 0.2 percent at $1,653.90 an ounce at 0935 GMT, while U.S. gold futures for June delivery were down $5.60 an ounce at $1,654.90. Gold rose 0.7 percent on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve pledged to keep interest rates, and consequently the opportunity cost of holding gold, at rock bottom for an extended period. But Standard & Poor's two-notch credit rating downgrade on Spain raised risk aversion in the markets on Friday, knocking the euro versus the dollar. Gold has a close negative link with the U.S. unit, ...

Forex Morning Briefing : Yen lifted by risk aversion over european political turmoil What’s new: Forex: Yen boosted by uncertainty from European elections; Aussie hurt by CPI data Global Markets: Asian shares slip on political turmoil in euro zone Australia: Consumer prices fall in first quarter, Aussie falls to 2-week low Euro zone: Dutch government collapses over budget cuts disagreements Rates in Asia and Indices: EUR/USD 1.3145 - 1.3174 0.12 % USD/CHF 0.9121 - 0.9143 0.12 % GBP/USD 1.611 - 1.6134 -0.04 % USD/JPY 80.86 - 81.20 0.20 % EUR/CHF 1.2015 - 1.2020 0.01 % EUR/JPY 106.32 - 106.82 0.08 % Dow Jones 12845.58 - 13028.2 -0.78 % Nasdaq 2629.7 - 2657.36 -0.84 % S&P 500 1358.79 - 1378.53 -0.84 % Nikkei 225 9423.3 - 9510.7 -0.89 % Shanghai ...

Sunrise Market Commentary Fixed Income: core bonds remain near contract highs Global core bonds reversed Tuesday's losses in a rather uneventful session. Today, all attention will go to the Spanish bond auction. A weak auction two weeks ago put pressure on Spanish yields since. The 10-yr yield flirts with the psychological 6% mark. In order to avoid more tensions, failure today is not an option. Currencies Sterling leaps higher on less dovish BoE Minutes While EUR/USD trading was rather uneventful, sterling was the star performer. Helped by less dovish BoE Minutes and a stronger labour market report, sterling shot higher pushing EUR/GBP below key support and GBP/USD above 1.60. The Sunrise Headlines US Equities dropped slightly lower on Wednesday, giving back part of ...