Gold prices slid on Thursday in choppy trade, giving up overnight gains on a rise in the dollar versus the euro and easing oil prices that dented bullion's role as a hedge against inflation.
Consumer prices rose a brisk 0.3 percent in October, which was in line with expectations and driven by the sharpest rise in energy costs in five months, the government reported on Thursday. The Consumer Price Index, the most broadly used gauge of inflation, rose at the same rate as in September, which was the steepest rise since a 0.7 jump in May, according to the Labor Department report.
Gold firmed on Wednesday, having briefly tested support below $800 per ounce, leaving investors nervy over the prospect of more falls from recent 28-year highs.
The dollar fell on Wednesday on continued worries that a struggling U.S. housing sector and lingering credit problems could hurt the broader economy.
Gold bounced back to trade above $800 an ounce on Tuesday after falling overnight to a one-week low, as bargain-hunters resurfaced and a weaker dollar supported the market, analysts said.
Venezuelan construction worker Gustavo Arteaga has no trouble finding jobs in this OPEC nation's booming economy, but on a recent Monday morning he skipped work as part of a more complicated search -- for milk.
The moves will keep the money and stock markets under pressure and possibly accelerate appreciation of the yuan.
Any new signs that the economy continues to decelerate could make it hard for stocks to regain their footing in the coming days after last week's bruising sell-off and a drop in consumer sentiment to a two-year low.
Gold gained on Friday, with investors keen to drive the metal to a record high of $850 an ounce as the dollar tumbled to an all-time low and oil rallied.
Consumer sentiment posted a surprisingly sharp fall in early November, hitting its lowest in two years as high energy costs and falling home prices pummeled confidence, a survey released on Friday showed. The bleak sentiment could also be complicated by a spike in price expectations, which may make an inflation-wary Federal Reserve less likely to cut interest rates to shore up the consumer-driven economy.
While the economy has been “resilient in recent months,†policy makers at the Federal Reserve do not see that such performance is likely to be sustained in the near term, as inflationary pressure increases, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday.
Japanese investors held onto their cash instead of piling more into investment trusts in October, data showed on Thursday, a sign that the U.S. mortgage mess and ensuing market turmoil may be hurting their appetite for risk.
Technology stocks fell on Thursday as investors worried that the spillover from the credit crisis may be starting to hurt business spending.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday the U.S. economy has been resilient in the face of credit market strains but it faces risks on both the growth and inflation fronts. he added that sharp increases in the prices of crude oil have put upward pressure on inflation and may impose further restraint on economic activity
The outlook of the U.S. interest rate policy is asymmetric, with further rate cutting bigger than the potential for increases, said St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President William Poole on Wednesday.
HONG KONG, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Oil soared above $98 a barrel for the first time on Wednesday and gold rose to a 28-year high as investors sought shelter from the falling dollar, which plumbed all-time lows.
Does Asia have more to fear from rising petrol prices as crude oil hurtles towards $100 a barrel than it does from slowing growth in its biggest export market of the United States?
Oil was on the cusp of the landmark $100 a barrel level on Wednesday, helping push gold towards a record $850 an ounce as an embattled dollar hit new lows.
Non-farm worker productivity increased at the strongest rate in four years during this year's third quarter, the government said on Wednesday in a report implying the economy could keep growing without generating inflation.
Australia raised its key interest rates by a quarter percentage point Wednesday, its second hike in 2007, to contain inflation.
Precious metals raced higher on Tuesday, boosted by an ailing dollar and strong oil, with gold hitting 28-year highs, silver soaring to its best price in 27 years and platinum setting a record.
Ben Bernanke may not have many soothing words for Wall Street this week as the Federal Reserve hammers home its point that it will take more than a modest economic slowdown to pry loose more interest rate cuts.
