| UPDATE 1-Gold off 1-week high ahead of G7
SINGAPORE, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Gold rose above $660 an ounce on Friday but struggled to hold the gains as dealers turned their attention to a Group of Seven finance ministers' meeting starting later in the day. Spot gold <XAU=> hit its highest since Feb. 1 at $661.30 an ounce on the back of firm crude oil, before slipping to $658.70/659.40 by 0254 GMT. The metal was last quoted at $659.40/660.10 in New York on Thursday, when it gained around 1 percent on a weak dollar and gains in oil prices. A rebounding U.S. dollar capped gains and players were not keen to get exposed to the currency market, which may be choppy ahead of the G7 meeting, said Tobin Gorey, commodities analyst of Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. "I guess the next chance for it to test is basically around the mid-$670s," he said.
G7: Japan's Omi: Must Note Risk Of Markets Moving One Way
TOKYO -(Dow Jones)- Investors must be aware of the risks caused by markets moving in only one direction, Japanese Finance Minister Koji Omi said Saturday. In a communique, finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of Seven leading industrialized economies said the outlook for the global economy remains favorable, adding that "Japan's recovery is on track and is expected to continue." The communique then said that G7 members "are confident that the implications of these developments will be recognized by market participants and will be incorporated in their assessment of risks." Speaking at a post-meeting press conference, Omi said that statement is intended to remind market participants of the risks they face if they assume that currency and other markets will only move one way.
G-7 recommends vigilance on hedge funds, foreign currency fluctuations
ESSEN, Germany (AP): Japan has emerged from the Group of Seven meeting without a public scolding, despite criticism beforehand that its weakened yen was hurting other economies, while China came under renewed pressure to make its yuan more flexible. The finance ministers and central bankers from the world's wealthiest nations also called for more vigilance on the rising power of hedge funds, but favored a conciliatory approach that would reach out to the industry. G-7 finance officials said the world's major developed economies are showing solid growth, and added that energy efficiency and diversification -- particularly renewable forms -- remains a priority. "Over the last two days, we discussed ways to keep the global economy growing in a balanced way, including stimulating domestic demand in Japan and Europe and pressing for greater exchange-rate flexibility in China,'' U.S.
G-7 Urges Investors to Note Japan Economy `On Track,' Omits Yen
Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of Seven nations urged investors to recognize Japan's economic recovery is ``on track,'' while stopping short of saying the yen's decline threatens global growth. At a meeting in Essen, Germany, the officials bridged a divide between Europeans who want the yen to strengthen and the U.S. and Japanese who say investors should be free to set currency values free of government interference. With the yen trading near the record low reached against the euro last month, European officials signaled they will keep sounding the alarm on the yen in the hope speculators would tune into their complaints. ``It's a compromise,'' said Marc Chandler, head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York.
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