Stocks worldwide began the fourth quarter on a negative note on Wednesday, with investors wary of lackluster economic data and keeping a cautious eye on civil unrest in Hong Kong.
Tags: Gold
China gold and jewels exports spike points to hot money revival
A sudden swell in China's exports of gold and jewelry may signal a resurgence of speculative currency inflows through inflated trade receipts, raising the prospect the central bank could again act to weaken the yuan and punish speculators.
Bank stress test relief lifts European assets
European stocks, low-rated government bonds and the single currency all rose on Monday as financial markets gave a tentative thumbs-up to euro zone bank health checks.
Swiss gold referendum's support falls short of majority: poll
A proposal to prohibit the Swiss National Bank from selling any of its gold reserves has the support of 44 percent of the public, a closely watched survey showed on Friday, though that result falls short of the backing it needs to pass into law.
Stocks roar Fed approval; dollar, bond yields wilt
World stock markets roared their approval on Thursday of reassurances the U.S. Federal Reserve will not rush into raising interest rates, with risk appetite flooding back into almost every asset class.
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World markets were in hesitant mood on Tuesday as investors wondered what China's response would be to civil unrest in Hong Kong, while the U.S. dollar eased off the throttle after its biggest quarterly gain in six years.
The dollar held near a four-year high against a basket of currencies on Friday, fueled by the biggest yield advantage over the euro in nearly 15 years as the Federal Reserve contemplates hiking interest rates.
The price of gold, down more than a third in three years, is approaching the tipping point where the mining industry would see a spike in the number of producers reducing output or even shutting down operations.
At least 25 people died when a gold mine collapsed near the Central African Republic town of Bambari, a spokesman for the mainly Muslim Seleka rebels which run the mine said on Friday.
Gold held near a two-month low on Friday and was headed for its worst week in five, hurt by strong U.S. economic data and fears that the Federal Reserve could hike interest rates sooner than expected.
Hedge funds have increased their bullish gold bets amid predictions given by analysts that the price of the bullion will continue to go down this year, Bloomberg reported.
Despite recording huge losses in 2013, gold and silver investments are seen increasing, and analysts attributed these to the improving major economies, including the US.
A report on Arabian Business read that gold will be recording its lowest annual plunge since three decades ago due to combined pressure from the monetary stimulus easing of the US Federal Reserve.
As investors await for the decision of the US Federal Reserve to the timeline when it will begin with its tapering of its monthly bond purchases, prices of gold and other minerals saw increases in the financial markets.
