Gold remains close to three-week low

Gold fell for a second day and reached their lowest levels for the past three weeks. This followed after the Federal Reserve hinted about possible interest-rate hike in December.

As expected, at the meeting on Wednesday the US central bank decided to leave interest rates unchanged. According to the institution a possible increase in interest rates in December will depend on inflation and employment.

The weakness of the world economy and its impact on the United States give reason to believe that the Fed will delay increasing interest for the beginning of next year.

The published on Thursday data on US GDP show a slight slowdown. For the third quarter GDP increased by 1.5 %, as preliminary expectations were for growth of 1.6 %.

The spot price of gold fell 0.9 percent to 1,145.43 - its lowest level since October 9.

US futures for delivery in December fell 2.4% to $ 1147.30 per ounce.

Other precious metals also recorded declines on Thursday. 

Platinum fell 0.9 % to $ 989 per ounce.

Palladium fell 1.5 % to 667.50.

Silver depreciated by 2.1 % to $ 15.58 per ounce.

Euro area confidence unexpectedly rises

Consumer confidence in the euro area unexpectedly rose in October - for the fourth consecutive month. The ECB's comments on potential new incentives probably contributed to this.

The consumer confidence index rose to 105.9 points in October compared to 105.6 points a month earlier. This was the highest level of confidence from June 2011 onwards.

This result exceeded the average expectations of analysts who predicted a value of 105.1 points.

The level of inflation in the euro area has remained at levels of around zero in October. The index that is tracking the confidence in the construction sector rose to minus 20.7 points in October from minus 23.2 points in September. This was the highest level since September 2008 onwards, after the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

The confidence in the sector of retail sales reached a record high of 6.5 points compared to 4.2 points in September. The confidence in the industrial sector has improved. Contradicting signs come however from Europe's largest economy - Germany, where business confidence has fallen for the first time in four months.

US dollar close to 2.5-month high before Fed's statement

The released US economic data yesterday gave no reasons for raising interest rates in the country. Durable goods orders and consumer sentiment did not met the market's expectations.

Capital goods orders outside the defense sector marked a decrease of 0.3% last month, but the preliminary expectations were to remain unchanged. The data for August were even revised to 1.6%.

Also yesterday it became clear that the index of consumer attitudes fell to 97.6 points this month, compared with 102.6 points in September, despite expectations for an increase to 103.0. 

The euro, which received a serious blow from the speech of Mario Draghi after the ECB meeting last week, lost about 0.1% to 1.1034 dollars. But nevertheless the euro remained at the reached on Monday  2.5-year low of 1.0989.

The yen was at a level of 120.41 against the dollar after yesterday rose to a week’s peak of 120.16 upon the release of data on long-term contracts. On Friday will be hold the meeting of the of Japan's Central Bank and all are awaiting whether the bank will increase the incentives for the economy.

The Australian dollar fell more than 1% to a three-week low of $ 0.7109 after the surprisingly low inflation in the country raise expectations of rate cut by the central bank next week. Recently the Australian dollar was trading at a level of $ 0.7120, with a decline of nearly 1%. 

The British pound has stabilized after falling to a two-month low on Tuesday upon the released data on the growth of the UK economy that slowed more than expected in the third quarter. The pound fell to 1.5283 dollars on Tuesday, having retreated by 1.5 % from one-month peak of 1.5510 that was hit last Thursday.

USD slightly declined

The US dollar depreciated today, after having reached a 2.5-month low against a basket of several other major currencies. However, risk appetite was boosted after the easing of monetary policy in China and the dollar reduced some losses.

The stock markets recorded a growth on Friday after China cut interest rates for the fifth time this year - just days after the European Central Bank has indicated readiness to increase incentives for the economy.

Interest rates on US 10-year bonds rose by approximately 6 basis points on Friday to two-week high after stock prices rose and limited the assets demand, which in turn provided support for the dollar. 

The US dollar index fell 0.2 % to 96,953 points after reaching 97,201 points on Friday, which was its highest level since August 12.

The US dollar depreciated 0.2%  to 121.16 against the yen, having retreated from two-month high of 121.60 yen. The euro rose 0.2 % to 1.1035 dollars after earlier fell to 1.0989, which was the lowest level for the European currency since August 11.

 The US Federal Reserve will announce its decision regarding interest rates on Wednesday. Most expectations are that the US central bank will not raise interest rates at this meeting. 

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US job data indicate strong economy

The number of Americans who registered in the labor offices for the week ended Oct. 17 is amounted to 259 thousand. The result pleasantly surprised analysts who had predicted an increase to 266 thousand compared to 256 thousand for the previous seven days.

At the same time, the average monthly number of submitted applications for unemployment benefits last month decreased from 265.250 to 263.250. So the indicator, which is considered more reliable than the markets because  temporary is smoothing fluctuations in the data, reached its lowest level since December 1973 onwards.

After a disappointing government employment statistics in September, the US labor market submitted mainly positive signals, preserving hopes that the Federal Reserve may proceed to raise rates before the end of the year.

"With August and September being notorious for initially under-reportingjob gains, today's data add to the case that employment growth will pick up inOctober and the unemployment rate will continue to grind lower," said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics in New York. 

Yahoo Q3 results within forecasted expectations

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) reported yesterday the results for the quarter ended September 30, 2015. The US Internet giant again disappointed investors by presenting a weaker than expected financial results.

The company reported revenue of 1.23 billion dollars against 1.15 billion dollars a year earlier. The net profit is 76 million dollars, or 8 cents per share, compared to 6.8 billion dollars a year earlier. Analysts expected higher revenue and profit, and this sent shares 1.5 % down in the post-trading.

The main reason for the weak financial results is due to the special effects following the market debut of online retailer Alibaba, in which Yahoo holds a large share.

Despite the poor results, the current president and CEO of Yahoo! Marissa Mayer, who held this position since July 2012, showed satisfaction and pointed out that the result meets the expectations.

Q3 2014

Q3 2015

GAAP revenue

$1,148 million

$1,226 million

Cost of revenue – TAC

$54 million

$223 million

Income (loss) from operations

$42 million

$(86) million

Non-GAAP income from operations

$156 million

$92 million

Adjusted EBITDA

$306 million

$244 million

Net earnings

$6,774 million

$76 million

GAAP net earnings per diluted share

$6.70

$0.08

Non-GAAP net earnings per diluted share

$0.52

$0.15

“Our Q3 results were largely within our forecastedexpectations -- our GAAP revenue grew 7% year-over-year and our Mavens revenuegrew 43%.  As we move into 2016, we will work to narrow our strategy,focusing on fewer products with higher quality to achieve improved growth andprofitability,” said Marissa Mayer. “In addition to sharpeningfocus within core business growth, our top priority is the planned spinoff ofAabaco Holdings. This is an important moment for the Company, and we continueto strive to complete the spin as quickly as we can."