Gold remained in positive territory on Thursday, as concerns over Greece's debt woes intensified after Germany rejected a
proposed bailout extension request from the Athens. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold
futures for April delivery rallied $15.20, or 1.27%, to trade at $1,215.40 a troy ounce during U.S. morning hours after hitting
a session high of $1,222.90. A day earlier, gold fell to $1,197.20, the lowest level since January 5, before settling at
$1,200.20, down $8.40, or 0.7%. Futures were likely to find support at $1,177.80, the low from January 5, and resistance at
$1,236.70, the high from February 17. The Greek government submitted a request for an extension of its existing loan
agreement with the euro zone, which it differentiates from its bailout, earlier Thursday. But German Finance Minister
Wolfgang Schaeuble said it was "not a substantial proposal for a solution" and did not meet the criteria agreed on at the euro
group meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Monday. Greece’s current €240 billion bailout will expire on February 28
and the country will run out of money, which could trigger the country’s exit from the euro zone. Meanwhile, the U.S.
Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending February 14
decreased by 21,000 to 283,000 from the previous week’s total of 304,000. Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to fall
by 11,000 to 293,000 last week. Traders reassessed their expectations for the timing of the first U.S. rate hike following the
release of dovish Fed minutes on Wednesday. According to the minutes, "many" policymakers were in favor of holding
interest rates at current levels for longer and that raising rates too soon could weigh on the economic recovery. The dovish
minutes prompted investors to push back expectations for the first U.S. rate hike to at least the second half of this year. A
delay in raising interest rates would be seen as bullish for gold, as it decreases the relative cost of holding on to the metal,
which doesn't offer investors any similar guaranteed payout. Elsewhere on the Comex, silver futures for March delivery
jumped 31.3 cents, or 1.92%, to trade at $16.57 a troy ounce. On Wednesday, silver tumbled 11.3 cents, or 0.69%, to close at
$16.26. Meanwhile, copper for March delivery eased down 0.7 cents, or 0.28%, to trade at $2.607 a pound in holiday-thinned
trade. Markets in the world's biggest copper consumer, China, will remain closed until February 24 for the Lunar New Year
holiday, removing a key support for prices. The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost
40% of world consumption last year
NYMEX crude rebounds in early Asia as investors focus on Greece loans
Crude oil prices rebounded in early Asia on Friday, shrugging off large builds in U.S. stockpiles, as investors looked ahead to
Greece and the euro zone and whether the country can manages to secure continued debt financing. On the New York
Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for delivery in April rose 0.40% to trade at $52.04 a barrel. Overnight, West Texas
Intermediate oil futures remained in negative territory on Thursday, after data showed that oil supplies in the U.S. rose to the
highest level on record, exacerbating fears over a glut in supplies. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its
weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 7.7 million barrels in the week ended February 13, compared to
expectations for an increase of 3.3 million barrels. Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 425.6 million barrels as of last
week, the most on records dating back to August 1982. The report also showed that total motor gasoline inventories increased
by 0.5 million barrels, compared to expectations for a gain of 0.2 million, while distillate stockpiles decreased by 3.8 million
barrels. The data came out one day later than usual due to Monday's Presidents Day holiday in the U.S. Elsewhere, on the ICE
Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for April delivery dropped $1.43, or 2.4%, to trade at $59.08 a barrel on Thursday. Oil
prices have fallen sharply in recent months as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries resisted calls to cut output, while the U.S. pumped at the fastest pace in more than three decades, creating a glut
in global supplies. Meanwhile, market sentiment remained subdued following reports that Germany rejected a proposed
bailout extension request from Greece, as Athens faces running out of money by the end of the month. The Greek government
submitted a request for an extension of its existing loan agreement with the euro zone, which it differentiates from its bailout,
earlier Thursday. But German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said it was "not a substantial proposal for a solution"
and did not meet the criteria agreed on at the euro group meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Monday. Greece’s current
€240 billion bailout will expire on February 28 and the country will run out of money, which could trigger the country’s exit
from the euro zone.
(Investing)
CURRENCY VIEW
Major Forex News
Yen blips higher after BoJ holds fire
The yen steadied in early European deals on Wednesday, after a brief jump in Asian trading driven by the Bank of Japan's
confirmation it saw no need to print more money to stimulate the economy. With all eyes fixed on Greek and euro zone
politicians' efforts to steer a way to a new deal on Greece's international bailout, the euro was trading firmly in the
middle of a 2-cent range it has held for more than three weeks. Price action generally was limited but the yen did blip
higher after the BoJ decision to keep policy steady. Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said he saw no immediate need to expand
monetary stimulus again with inflation heading up towards his 2 percent target, though he said the BOJ "would not
hesitate" if the inflation outlook changed.
As with the euro, a period of relative stability for the yen has raised some doubts over how fast even the United States'
better economic performance will drive further gains for the dollar after a surge since the middle of last year."With the economy near full employment to case for further yen weakness is less compelling," strategists from French
bank BNP Paribas said in a morning note. They still recommended adding to short positions betting on more yen
weakness but emphasised the move would now be gradual.
Rising U.S. front-end yields should encourage further capital outflows from Japan and a rebuilding of short yen positions
among FX market participants from the current moderate level of -2 on our positioning monitor."
Dealers said the yen should be stuck in the current range for longer. It traded just over 0.1 percent higher at 119.09 yen
per dollar by 0825 GMT.It seems to me we are going to tumble between roughly 117-120 yen for a while and the moment
it looks like pushing on through 120 some comment will come out, as happened last week, to dampen things," said a spot
dealer at one international bank in London. The Japanese authorities clearly like a weak yen, but it has all been a bit too
quick for the economy to adjust.Although Greece rejected a proposal to request a six-month extension of its international
bailout on Monday, market players are betting that an agreement will be reached in the next couple of weeks.
All eyes are on the European Central Bank on Wednesday, with sources telling Reuters that Germany's Bundesbank is
leading opposition to increasing the 65 billion euros that the Greek central bank can give its struggling banks.
Without an increase, the banks face a tightening squeeze as deposits continue to stream out, potentially forcing Athens
to introduce capital controls if there is no deal in Brussels this month.
