Page 25 - ARUBA TODAY

BUSINESS Wednesday 8 January 2020
A25

Stocks steady, gold pauses rally ahead of next US-Iran move

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks day's strongest gains and
around the world stead- clawed back much of their
ied on Tuesday, and gold sharp losses from Monday.
and crude oil prices took Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped
a pause from their recent 1.6%, South Korea's Kospi
run as investors wait for the rose 0.9% and Hong Kong's
next step in the increasingly Hang Seng added 0.3%.
tense U.S.-Iran confronta- In Europe, Germany's Dax
tion. returned 0. 7 %, France's
Benchmark U.S. crude was CAC 40 rose 0.1% and the
heading for its first drop FTSE 100 in London was vir-
since before the United tually flat.
States killed Iranian Gen. TAKE A BREATH: Gold
Qassem Soleimani in a slowed its momentum and
drone strike on Friday, a rose a modest 90 cents to
move that threatened to $1,569.70 per ounce. It had
disrupt oil supplies in the climbed more than $16
Middle East and caused each of the last two days
prices to spurt higher for as investors piled into what
days. The potential for war In this Jan. 2, 2020, file photo James Riley monitors stock prices at the New York Stock Exchange. they thought could hold
also sent dollars flowing Associated Press steady even if a war broke
out of risky investments like out in the Middle East.
stocks and into gold and fell, and oil companies had and technology stocks. noon Eastern time. U.S. officials were prepar-
other safer harbors. some of the biggest de- Gold was holding steady a The Dow Jones Industrial ing for an Iranian response
Asian and European stock clines after weaker crude day after touching its high- Average fell 89 points, or to their drone strike against
markets clawed back some prices dragged down est price in nearly seven 0.3%, to 28,611, and the Soleimani and warned
of their losses from Monday, Exxon Mobil, Chevron and years, and Treasury yields Nasdaq composite rose 0.1 ships about the possibility of
while U.S. indexes were others in the industry. That were also little changed. %. action against U.S. interests
mixed. Nearly two-thirds of helped offset modest gains KEEPING SCORE: The S&P MARKETS ABROAD: Asian in Mideast waterways or
the stocks in the S&P 500 for raw-material producers 500 was down 0.2% as of markets had some of the other retaliations. q

Eurozone inflation hits 6-month high before oil price spike

By PAN PYLAS The core inflation rate, the forefront of the region's in the Middle East follow- senior eurozone economist
LONDON (AP) — Inflation which strips out volatile debt crisis last decade, has ing the killing by the U.S. of at ING.
across the 19-country euro- items such as tobacco helped keep a lid on wage Iranian general Qassem So- The ECB next meets to de-
zone spiked to a six-month and energy, held steady increases over the past few leimani. The rise in tensions cide on interest rates on
high in December even be- at 1.3%. Though below tar- years despite a pick-up in has seen the price of oil Jan. 23, when policymak-
fore the recent jump in oil get, the core rate is above economic growth. and gold jump, while stock ers might have a clearer
prices in the wake of esca- where it has been for much With growth now waning markets have taken a hit. idea of how things are de-
lating U.S.-Iran tensions, of- of the last few years, a around the world, the con- "Without material improve- veloping in the Middle East
ficial figures showed Tues- fact that may cheer some cern is that any underly- ment in business confi- and whether the spike in oil
day. members of the ECB's gov- ing uptick in inflation may dence and the growth prices is short-lived. Even
Statistics agency Euro- erning council. stall. That's especially the outlook, continued mod- before the recent increase,
stat said prices increased Inflation across the euro- case should the economic est price growth seems the energy prices were contrib-
across the board during zone has remained stub- outlook darken further be- most likely scenario for the uting to a rise in eurozone
December, helping the bornly below the ECB's goal cause of growing tensions moment," said Bert Colijn, inflation.q
annual rate of inflation to for years, prompting the
rise to 1.3% from the previ- central bank, now under
ous month's 1%. Though in- the leadership of Christine
flation is at its highest level Lagarde, to persevere with
since June, when it was stimulus measures far longer
also 1.3%, it remains way than its peers, such as the
below the European Cen- U.S. Federal Reserve. High
tral Bank's goal of just be- unemployment, particular-
low 2%. ly in countries that were at