Wall Street also had a volatile end to the
week with the expiration of stock and index options contracts generating
heavy trading volume.
The Dow .DJI ended Friday down 2.1 percent, while the S&P 500 .SPX lost 1.78 percent and the Nasdaq .IXIC 1.59 percent. For the week, the Dow fell 0.8 percent, the S&P 500 0.3 percent and the Nasdaq 0.2 percent.
The flight from stocks was a boon for safe-haven bonds. Longer-dated Treasuries have been particularly popular as investors wager the Federal Reserve is well ahead of the curve on inflation after last week's rate hike.
Gold also benefited from the weakness in equity markets. Retaining sharp gains from the previous trading session helped the metal recoup some losses from last week's U.S. interest rate hike.
Spot gold XAU= climbed to 1,068.46, building on the 1.4 percent gain seen in the previous session.
Other commodities however didn't fare as well. London copper edged back as weak demand outweighed news that China's smelters are considering deeper production cuts.
Three-month copper slipped 0.3 percent to $4,673 a tonne, hovering near the 6 1/2 year lows seen in November.
The global background is one of disinflation given the weakness in oil and other commodity prices and the mounting spare capacity in major exporters such as China.
Inflation expectations for five years ahead USIL5YF5Y=R have taken a marked turn lower this month, dropping to 2.11 percent from a high of 2.24 percent.
The Dow .DJI ended Friday down 2.1 percent, while the S&P 500 .SPX lost 1.78 percent and the Nasdaq .IXIC 1.59 percent. For the week, the Dow fell 0.8 percent, the S&P 500 0.3 percent and the Nasdaq 0.2 percent.
The flight from stocks was a boon for safe-haven bonds. Longer-dated Treasuries have been particularly popular as investors wager the Federal Reserve is well ahead of the curve on inflation after last week's rate hike.
Gold also benefited from the weakness in equity markets. Retaining sharp gains from the previous trading session helped the metal recoup some losses from last week's U.S. interest rate hike.
Spot gold XAU= climbed to 1,068.46, building on the 1.4 percent gain seen in the previous session.
Other commodities however didn't fare as well. London copper edged back as weak demand outweighed news that China's smelters are considering deeper production cuts.
Three-month copper slipped 0.3 percent to $4,673 a tonne, hovering near the 6 1/2 year lows seen in November.
The global background is one of disinflation given the weakness in oil and other commodity prices and the mounting spare capacity in major exporters such as China.
Inflation expectations for five years ahead USIL5YF5Y=R have taken a marked turn lower this month, dropping to 2.11 percent from a high of 2.24 percent.
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