UK housing market continues to slow; non-farm payrolls are expected to show an 182,000 increase in US jobs 12.13pm GMT GREECE’S ECONOMY SHRANK BY 8.2% LAST YEAR BECAUSE OF THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS, ACCORDING TO DATA FROM THE COUNTRY’S STATISTICS SERVICE (ELSTAT). This was not as bad as expected – both the European Commission and the Bank of Greece had forecast a 10% contraction. In the fourth quarter, the economy grew by 2.7%, down from 3.1% in the third quarter. 12.04pm GMT Gold has slumped to a near nine-month low, with higher bond yields and a stronger dollar denting its appeal. Spot gold dipped 0.15% to $1,694 an ounce, after falling as low as $1,686.40, the lowest since 8 June. it has lost about 2% this week. Jerome Powell, chair of the US Federal Reserve, reiterated yesterday that the central bank would keep policy loose, and even though he described the rise in bond yields as “notable,” he did not think that the Fed would need to step in to push them down. Continue reading...
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