BRIEF-Russia's Polyus Gold says Q4 gold sales at $488 mln

Jan 25 Russia's Polyus Gold :

* says Q4 gold sales at $488 million (Q3 2015: $593 million);

* says Q4 gold production 465,900 troy ounces, flat y-o-y;

* says 2016 gold production guidance 1.76-1.80 million ounces;

* says 2015 gold output 1.76 mln ounces, up 4 pct y-o-y, exceeding upper end of guidance

Global Stocks Market News

The dollar index .DXY, which tracks the currency against a basket of six others, was flat at 98.344.

Traders were looking to U.S. data, including revised third-quarter GDP and housing price indicators, later in the session but with many markets closed later this week, activity was expected to be thin.

U.S. and most European markets will close on Friday for Christmas, while in Japan, markets will be closed on Wednesday for the emperor's birthday.

Euro zone bond yields DE10YT=TWEB were steady as the European Central Bank put a temporary halt to its asset purchases programme over the Christmas break.

The pause in the 1.5 trillion euro scheme until Jan. 4 removes a pillar of support for markets at a time when inconclusive Spanish elections have created some price ructions.

Spot gold XAU= was little changed at $1,079.20 an ounce after rising 2.5 percent in the past two sessions.

Global Stock News

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.