BRUSSELS, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Ireland's finance minister said on Monday he would withdraw the candidacy of Irish central bank governor Philip Lane from the race for the position of European Central Bank vice president and support Spain's Luis de Guindos for the job.Paschal Donohoe told reporters on entering a meeting of euro zone finance ministers that will decide on a joint candidate that he would...Read More

LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar enjoyed a small rebound on Monday as investors bought back the greenback after its plunge to three-year lows, although analysts said any recovery looked set to be brief with dollar bears still out in force.The U.S. currency has weakened this year as expectations that central banks will start raising interest rates in other parts of the world erode its perceived yield...Read More

Copper miner evaluating Baimskaya stake in RussiaRead full newsRead More

* Analysts say dollar weakness to continue* Speculators cut net gold longs in the week to Feb. 13* SPDR Gold holdings rise 0.4 percent on Friday(Updates throughout, adds LONDON dateline) By Zandi ShabalalaLONDON, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Gold prices were mostly flat on Monday as the dollar clawed back some recent losses and stocks rose, but U.S. inflation fears kept buyers in the metal.Spot gold was fla...Read More

* Analysts say dollar weakness to continue * Speculators cut net gold longs in the week to Feb. 13 * SPDR Gold holdings rise 0.4 percent on Friday(Updates throughout, adds LONDON dateline) By Zandi ShabalalaLONDON, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Gold prices were mostly flat on Monday as the dollar clawed back some recent losses and stocks rose, but U.S. inflation fears kept buyers in the metal.Spot gold was f...Read More

Theequity markets are closed today; however, the futures markets are open. Equityfutures are higher which would have led to the seventh day in a row of gains.Just three weeks ago, equities looked like they were going to collapse. Nowthey look like they may never go down again. Will the “rip your face off” rallycontinue or will Darth Vader return? Goldhas followed a very similar pattern...Read More

The equity markets are closed today; however, the futures markets are open. Equity futures are higher which would have led to the seventh day in a row of gains. Just three weeks ago, equities looked like they were going to collapse. Now they look like they may never go down again. Will the “rip your face off” rally continue or will Darth Vader return? Gold has followed a very similar p...Read More

Headlines regarding the recent explosion in equity volatility were somewhat hyper-focused on the pitfalls of trading volatility derivatives, for which the soon-to-be liquidated VelocityShares Daily Inverse VIX Short-Term ETN (XIV) was the unfortunate "poster child." But while markedly less catastrophic and climactic, the price action of late in the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX) ha...Read More

* U.S. dollar enjoys small bounce* Euro slips but holds close to $1.24* Graphic: World FX rates in 2018 By Tommy WilkesLONDON, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The dollar enjoyed a small rebound on Monday as investors bought back the greenback after its plunge to three-year lows, although analysts said any recovery looked set to be brief with dollar bears still out in force.The U.S. currency has weakened this y...Read More

MADRID, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Spain plans to issue between 1 billion and 2 billion euros($1.2 billion-$2.5 billion) in 3- and 9-month Treasury bills on Tuesday, the Treasury said on Monday. ($1 = 0.8060 euros) (Reporting by Paul Day) Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accura...Read More

PRAGUE, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The Czech Finance Ministry will offer up to 24 billion crowns ($1.18 billion) worth of domestic government bonds in six primary auctions taking place in March, the ministry said on Monday. The ministry also confirmed the maximum expected nominal value of bonds sold in auctions in the first quarter was planned at 60 billion crowns.The ministry added it would offer up to 2...Read More

COLOMBO, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The Sri Lankan rupee edged down on Monday on importer dollar demand, while political uncertainty continued to weigh on investor sentiment, dealers said. The rupee ended at 155.40/50 per dollar, compared with Friday's close of 155.10/20. The rupee hit a record low of 155.90 on Wednesday."Exporters were reluctant to sell (dollar) due to political uncertainty," a...Read More

Gold surrendered early gains to $1351 level and has now retreated to the lower end of its daily trading range.  A subdued US Dollar price action provided some initial boost to dollar-denominated commodities - like gold. The early uptick, however, lacked any strong follow-through momentum amid holiday-thinned liquidity conditions.  Meanwhile, a global recovery in equity markets, pointing...Read More

By David MorganWASHINGTON, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Jolted by the global investment craze over bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, U.S. lawmakers are moving to consider new rules that could impose stricter federal oversight on the emerging asset class, several top lawmakers told Reuters.Bipartisan momentum is growing in the Senate and House of Representatives for action to address the risks posed by vir...Read More

Gold futures fell modestly Monday, giving up part of last week's gain, as a steadier dollar weighed on the metal, and as the Presidents Day holiday in the U.S. gave many traders the session off. April gold GCJ8, +0.02%lost $5.40, or 0.4%, to $1,350.80 an ounce in electronic trading, while March silver SIH8, -0.14%shed a nickel, or 0.3%, to $16.66 an ounce. The drop came as the dollar was steady to...Read More

LONDON, Feb 19 (Reuters) - South Africa's new leadership headed by newly-elected President Cyril Ramaphosa is a 'credit positive' for many of the country's top gold and platinum miners.It added that a resolution of issues around the country's revised mining charter and finalisation of MRPDA (Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act) amendment bill would be credit positive for Anglogold Asha...Read More

(Repeats to add graphic)By Karin StroheckerLONDON, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Emerging stocks clawed their way slightly higher on Monday though currencies came under some pressure after the dollar found its footing, with South Africa in focus as markets awaited a cabinet reshuffle ahead of Wednesday's budget.MSCI's overall emerging markets index climbed 0.2 percent. The benchmark has recovered half the l...Read More

By Karin StroheckerLONDON, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Emerging stocks clawed their way slightly higher on Monday though currencies came under some pressure after the dollar found its footing, with South Africa in focus as markets awaited a cabinet reshuffle ahead of Wednesday's budget.MSCI's overall emerging markets index climbed 0.2 percent. The benchmark has recovered half the losses sustained in the re...Read More

Last week, speculative gold positions declined for the second straight week as both longs and shorts cut positions.Despite the drop, speculative gold positions remain relatively high on a 10-year historic basis.Silver speculators cut silver positions once again to a net-short position, which is a bullish contrarian signal.The 2018 Chinese New Year started on Friday and we expect volatility in the...Read More

KAMPALA, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The Uganda shilling was steady on Monday, underpinned by a slowdown in appetite for dollars after most firms used some of their liquidity to meet mid-month tax payments. At 0933 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,630/3,640, same level as Thursday's close. Markets in Uganda were closed on Friday for a holiday.UGX Spot Rate................... Ugandan Shilling...Read More