Meta mojo is back as earnings surprise powers Big Tech rally

Feb 2 (Reuters) – Meta Platforms Inc. (META) shares closed about 23% higher on Thursday and helped spark a rally in the technology sector after the Facebook owner floored Wall Street by slashing its spending forecast and boosting its stock buyback plan by USD 40 billion.

The company added more than USD 90 billion to its market value and the stock logged its best day in a decade. The surge also lifted shares of Amazon.com (AMZN), Apple (AAPL) and Alphabet (GOOGL), all of which sport valuations of more than USD 1 trillion and will report earnings after market close.

Meta’s move to rein in costs marked a dramatic shift for a company that has spent billions of dollars to turn its vision of the futuristic metaverse into a reality, even while its core business reeled from stiff competition and a weak advertising market.

At least 24 analysts boosted their price targets on the stock after the results, with several saying that a combination of lower costs, upbeat revenue growth and share buybacks will drive up Meta’s earnings per share.

“That is rare,” analysts at Evercorse ISI said, referring to the positive developments. “And stocks react to rare.”

The results on Wednesday also provided some relief to the market after an earnings meltdown at Snap Inc. (SNAP) on Tuesday that had sent tech shares lower.

“After Snap’s disaster, the fact that Meta wasn’t quite so bad has brought encouragement to tech mega-caps,” said Fiona Cincotta, analyst at City Index.

“There is also a less hawkish Fed (Federal Reserve), which is also boosting demand for growth and tech stocks generally.”

“YEAR OF EFFICIENCY”

Meta now expects its 2023 expenses between USD 89 billion and USD 95 billion, a sharp drop from its previous outlook of USD 94 billion to USD 100 billion, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg calling the period a “Year of Efficiency”.

The forecast reflects savings from the 11,000 job cuts it announced in November, plans for lower data-center construction expenses, and moves to drop non-crucial projects.

“Promising that 2023 will be a year of efficiency was always likely to go down well with investors concerned about the largesse in spending directed towards the unproven potential of the metaverse,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

There were also signs that Meta’s core social-media business was getting back on track, with monetization efficiency for short-form video Reels on Facebook doubling and the business being on track to break-even as soon as end of 2023.

The company, which forecast first-quarter revenue above market estimates, also said that Facebook’s daily active user base grew to 2 billion from 1.98 billion in the prior quarter.

“Meta is getting its mojo back,” Baird analysts said.

(Reporting by Medha Singh and Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)

Oil slumps on economic data, stronger US dollar

NEW YORK, Feb 2 (Reuters) – Oil prices settled lower on Thursday as US industrial-linked factory orders dipped, while the dollar strengthened, making crude more expensive for non-American buyers.

Brent crude futures settled at USD 82.17 a barrel, shedding 67 cents, or 0.8%. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) settled at USD 75.88 a barrel, down 53 cents, or 0.7%.

While new orders for US manufactured goods rose broadly in December, orders for industrial equipment and other machinery fell, according to the latest Commerce Department data.

“It was highlighting more slowing in the economy, particularly on the industrial side, which is a negative for petroleum,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital.

A rebound in the dollar index, which hit a nine-month low earlier in the session on softer US Federal Reserve rate hike bets, also weighed on oil prices, according to Jim Ritterbusch of Ritterbusch and Associates. A stronger greenback makes dollar-priced oil more expensive for holders of other currencies.

The Fed raised its target interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday but continued to promise “ongoing increases” in borrowing costs as part of its battle against inflation.

“Inflation has eased somewhat but remains elevated,” the US central bank said in a statement that marked an explicit acknowledgement of the progress made in lowering the pace of price increases from the 40-year highs hit last year.

While inflation appears to have slowed in major economies, the response of central banks and the speed of reopening from COVID-19 lockdowns is uncertain.

“Investors have become less confident in the strength of the outlook; something we could see change repeatedly in this first quarter due to the lack of visibility on interest rates and China’s COVID transition,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA.

Helping to keep oil from moving lower was a European Union ban on Russian refined products set to take effect on Feb. 5, potentially dealing a blow to global supply.

EU countries will seek a deal on Friday on a European Commission proposal to set price caps on Russian oil products after postponing a decision on Wednesday because of divisions among member states, diplomats said.

The European Commission proposed last week that from Feb. 5 the EU apply a price cap of USD 100 a barrel on premium Russian oil products such as diesel and a USD 45 per barrel cap on discounted products such as fuel oil.

Meanwhile, an OPEC+ panel endorsed the producer group’s current output policy at a meeting on Wednesday, leaving production cuts agreed last year unchanged amid hopes of higher Chinese demand and uncertain prospects for Russian supply.

(Additional reporting by Noah Browning in London; Editing by Marguerita Choy, Will Dunham, Kirsten Donovan and David Gregorio)

Philippines grants US greater access to bases amid China concerns

MANILA, Feb 2 (Reuters) – The Philippines has granted the United States greater access to its military bases, their defence chiefs said on Thursday, amid mounting concern over China’s increasing assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea and tension over self-ruled Taiwan.

The United States would be given access to four more locations under the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Philippines’ Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez said in a joint news conference at the Philippine military headquarters in Manila.

Austin, in the Philippines for talks as the United States seeks to extend its security options as part of efforts to deter any move by China against self-ruled Taiwan, referred to the Philippine decision as a “big deal” as he and his counterpart reaffirmed their commitment to bolstering their alliance.

“Our alliance makes both of our democracies more secure and helps uphold a free and open Indo-Pacific,” said Austin, whose visit follows one by US Vice President Kamala Harris in November, which included a stop at Palawan island in the South China Sea.

“We discussed concrete actions to address destabilizing activities in the waters surrounding the Philippines, including the West Philippine Sea, and we remain committed to strengthening our mutual capacities to resist armed attack,” Austin said.

“That’s just part of our efforts to modernize our alliance. And these efforts are especially important as People’s Republic of China continues to advance its illegitimate claims in the West Philippine Sea,” he added.

China said greater US access to Philippine military bases undermined regional stability and raised tensions.

“This is an act that escalates tensions in the region and endangers regional peace and stability,” China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in a regular briefing.

“Regional countries should remain vigilant about this and avoid being used by the US”

The additional sites under the EDCA bring to nine the number of military bases the United States would have access to. The United States has announced it was allocating more than USD 82 million for infrastructure at the existing sites.

The EDCA allows US access to Philippine military bases for joint training, pre-positioning of equipment and the building of facilities such as runways, fuel storage and military housing, but not for a permanent presence.

Austin and Galvez did not specify the sites that would be opened to US access. The former Philippine military chief had said the United States had asked for access to bases on the main northern island of Luzon, the closest part of the Philippines to Taiwan, and on Palawan in the southwest, near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.

Outside the military headquarters, dozens of protesters opposed to a US military presence chanted anti-US slogans and called for the EDCA to be scrapped.

Before meeting his counterpart, Austin met Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and assured him of US support.

“We stand ready to help you in any way we can,” Austin said.

Ties between the United States and its former colony were soured under the previous president, Rodrigo Duterte, who made overtures towards China and was known for anti-US rhetoric and threats to downgrade military ties.

Marcos has met President Joe Biden twice since the son of former dictator, also called Ferdinand Marcos, won a landslide victory in an election last year and reiterated he could not see a future for his country without its longtime treaty ally.

“I have always said, it seems to me, the future of the Philippines and for that matter the Asia-Pacific will always have to involve the United States,” Marcos told Austin.

(Reporting by Karen Lema; additional reporting by Eduardo Baptista in Beijing; Editing by Ed Davies and Gerry Doyle)

Wall Street rallies as Fed’s Powell nods to easing inflation after rate hike

Feb 1 (Reuters) – The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed sharply higher on Wednesday after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell acknowledged that inflation was starting to ease, in remarks he made following a quarter-point rate hike by the US central bank.

Wall Street’s major indexes had lost ground immediately after the Fed announced its rate hike decision. Its statement also said “ongoing increases” to rates would be appropriate.

But the indexes bounced off their lows and kept gaining ground soon after Powell started speaking to reporters with the S&P ending up 1% and the Nasdaq adding 2%.

Investors were encouraged by Powell’s answer to a question about easing financial conditions such as rising equities and falling bond yields in recent months, according to Angelo Kourkafas, investment strategist at Edward Jones, St Louis.

“He had an opportunity to relay a hawkish message and didn’t take it. He could’ve said that markets are getting overly excited, and he didn’t take the opportunity. Instead, he said a lot of tightening has already happened,” said Kourkafas.

Since Powell said he could acknowledge for the first time that disinflation had started to happen, investors saw his suggestion that there could be two more rate hikes as a “placeholder” the strategist said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 6.92 points, or 0.02%, to 34,092.96, the S&P 500 gained 42.61 points, or 1.05%, to 4,119.21 and the Nasdaq Composite added 231.77 points, or 2%, to 11,816.32.

The afternoon rally had the S&P registering its highest closing level since Aug. 25 while the Nasdaq posted its highest close since September.

Of the S&P 500’s 11 major industry sectors only energy ended the day lower, down 1.9%, while interest rate sensitive technology shares were the biggest gainers, up 2.3%.

Investors were mostly focused on the Fed’s path forward, as the size of increase for its first policy meeting of the year was in line with expectations after rapid increases in 2022 including a December rate hike of 50 basis points.

After the press conference, money markets were betting on a terminal rate of 4.892% in June compared with bets for 4.92% just before the Fed’s statement.

US futures were still pricing in rate cuts this year with the fed funds rate seen at 4.403% by the end of December, the same as before the meeting.

Recent readings have indicated that inflation is easing, with the Fed also looking at data that will determine the resilience of the labor market and the pace of wage growth.

But data showed US job openings unexpectedly rose in December ahead of the Labor Department’s comprehensive report on nonfarm payrolls for January due on Friday.

Separate economic data showed US manufacturing contracted further in January as higher rates stifled demand for goods.

All three indexes had a strong start to the year, with the S&P and the Dow witnessing their first gain for January since 2019 as investors returned to markets, which were bruised in the previous year by a hawkish Fed.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.86-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.28-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 24 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 136 new highs and 23 new lows.

About 13.7 billion shares changed hands in US exchanges, compared with the 11.5 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions.

(Reporting by Sinéad Carew and Stephen Culp in New York, Johann M Cherian and Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Ankika Biswas; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Maju Samuel and David Gregorio)

Gold hits over 9-month highs as US Fed chief strikes dovish tone

Feb 1 (Reuters) – Gold prices rebounded sharply on Wednesday as the Federal Reserve chief’s surprisingly dovish remarks on the central bank’s fight to bring down inflation sank the dollar and signaled to investors that a peak in interest rates was likely approaching.

Spot gold climbed 1.2% to USD 1,951.43 per ounce by 3:48 p.m. ET (2048 GMT), its highest since mid-April 2022.

US gold futures settled 0.1% lower at USD 1,942.80.

Calling Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference ‘relatively dovish’, Standard Chartered analyst Suki Cooper said, “signaling the path to peak rates and highlighting falling inflation has given gold prices a boost as the USD weakened and real rates eased.”

“We maintain our view for the Fed to pause before cutting rates in H2-23. Gold has found tremendous support from central bank additions and gold investor positioning is elevated for this stage of a hiking cycle, suggesting that many of the macro tailwinds have been priced in and prices are likely to peak in Q1-23.”

The Fed raised its target interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday yet continued to promise “ongoing increases” in borrowing costs as part of its still unresolved battle against inflation.

“Powell’s given a bullish market a license to rally,” said Tai Wong, a senior trader at Heraeus Precious Metals in New York. “If the intention was to provide a hawkish 25-bps hike this was an inadequate performance.”

“He qualified every hawkish statement. Asset markets roared, the USD fell to new, recent lows and gold surged nearly a percent. It’s only a matter of time before gold makes new highs and dips will be bought,” Wong said.

Greenback-priced gold is highly sensitive to rising US interest rates, which raise the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion, and vice versa.

Spot silver rose 1.3% to USD 24.01 per ounce, while platinum dipped 0.4% to USD 1,007.63, and palladium gained 1.7% to USD 1,676.72.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen and Bharat Govind Gautam in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Shailesh Kuber)

Lights, camera, action

Global markets face their biggest test so far this year as the Federal Reserve appears poised to hint of an end to interest rate hikes at its meeting on Wednesday.

Investors are pricing in a quarter-of-a-percentage-point increase in the Fed’s benchmark interest rate, which would mark the smallest hike since US central bankers kicked off their tightening cycle 10 months ago with one the same size.

Still, there’s an air of caution, with markets leaving little scope for any nasty surprises.

In Europe, the region’s central bank is expected to deliver 50-basis-point rate rises at each of its next two meetings, with the first one taking place on Thursday.

But the forecasts still risk lagging behind policymakers’ guidance on how high rates will go.

The Bank of England is also expected to raise its interest rates by half a percentage point to 4% on Thursday.

For today, European markets will focus on euro zone January flash PMI data, while results are due from Vodafone , GSK and Novartis.

While the euro zone unexpectedly managed to avoid a recession in the fourth quarter, high energy costs, waning confidence and rising interest rates are expected to take a toll on the economy this year.

Germany and Italy figured among the biggest euro zone countries that recorded negative growth rates for the quarter but France and Spain expanded.

Surveys published on Wednesday showed Asia’s factory activity contracted in January as the boost from China’s COVID reopening had yet to offset headwinds from slowing US and European growth, underscoring the fragility of the region’s economic recovery.

Asian stock markets held steady, supported by signs of a slowdown in US wages that buoyed Wall Street overnight.

Meanwhile, European Union banking regulators on Tuesday launched a stress test to check how banks could cope with a long period of high inflation and interest rates just as the European Central Bank is expected to raise borrowing costs further.

Bayer BAYGn.DE came under pressure after a top-10 shareholder called on the group’s supervisory board to replace CEO Werner Baumann quickly, in a move aimed at restoring investor trust and reviving the German drugmaker’s sagging share price.

Key developments that could influence markets on Wednesday:

Economic data: Euro zone Jan flash PMI

Europe results: Vodafone, GSK, Novartis, Banco Bilbao

Fed rate decision at 1900 GMT followed by news conference at 1930 GMT

US economic data: Jan ISM

US results: eBay

(Reporting by Anshuman Daga; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

BOJ’s record bond buying highlights challenge for yield control

TOKYO, Feb 1 (Reuters) – The Bank of Japan bought a record USD 182 billion worth of government bonds in January, data showed on Wednesday, underscoring its resolve to defend its yield cap from attack by investors betting on a near-term interest rate hike.

The massive buying highlights the increasing difficulty the central bank faces in sustaining its yield control policy, as inflation perks up well above its 2% inflation target.

With its heavy-handed intervention drying up bond market liquidity, the BOJ is increasingly relying on a new funds-supply tool to keep the 10-year yield from breaching its 0.50% ceiling.

Some analysts, however, see such steps as a stop-gap effort to buy time until a new BOJ governor, who succeeds incumbent Haruhiko Kuroda in April, begins deliberations to revamp yield curve control (YCC).

“The BOJ is trying all available means to defend YCC but in doing so is increasing, not reducing, distortions in the bond market,” said Naomi Muguruma, senior market economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.

“It’s become a widely shared view in the market that YCC won’t be sustained under the new BOJ leadership. It would be a huge surprise if the BOJ doesn’t tweak YCC in April,” she said.

The BOJ’s bond buying in January, at 23.69 trillion yen (USD 182 billion), was the biggest amount on record and exceeded the previous high of 16.2 trillion yen marked in June 2022, central bank data showed.

Under yield curve control, the BOJ guides short-term interest rates at -0.1% and the 10-year bond yield around 0%.

The BOJ’s decision in December to widen the allowance band around the 10-year yield target heightened market expectations of a near-term rate hike, forcing the bank to ramp up bond buying to defend the newly set 0.5% cap for the 10-year yield.

Under pressure to iron out market distortions caused by its heavy bond buying, the BOJ remodelled in January a funds-supply operation into a tool to prevent yields from rising too much.

On Tuesday, the BOJ pumped five-year loans worth 1 trillion yen against collateral to financial institutions, in its second such operation with the remodelled tool.

While the BOJ has so far offered only two- and five-year loans, the BOJ can offer funds as long as 10 years with the revamped funds-supply operation.

“Depending on market conditions, an offer of long-term funds such as 10-year loans cannot be ruled out,” a source familiar with the BOJ’s thinking said, a view echoed by another source.

While offering such long-term loans will be a fresh sign of the BOJ’s determination to maintain YCC, the impact of the move on bond yields may be short-lived as markets continue to price in the chance of a near-term rate hike, some analysts say.

The 10-year bond yield stood at 0.480% on Wednesday, remaining close to the BOJ’s 0.5% cap.

The government is expected to present its nominees for the new BOJ governor and two deputies to parliament later this month. Kuroda’s term ends on April 8, and that of his two deputies on March 19.

Kuroda chairs his final BOJ policy meeting on March 9-10. His successor’s first meeting will be held on April 27-28 with career central bankers Masayoshi Amamiya and Hiroshi Nakaso seen as strong contenders.

(USD 1 = 130.1800 yen)

(Reporting by Leika Kihara and Takahiko Wada, additional reporting by Kantaro Komiya;
Editing by Shri Navaratnam, Uttaresh.V and Christian Schmollinger)

((leika.kihara@thomsonreuters.com; +813-6441-1828; Reuters Messaging: leika.kihara.reuters.com@reuters.net))

Oil rises as slowing US inflation eases recession concerns

Feb 1 (Reuters) – Oil prices rose on Wednesday as signs of slowing inflation in the United States eased fears that the world’s largest oil user may face a recession because of further interest rate hikes and a weaker dollar supported some buying interest.

Brent crude futures gained 8 cents, or 0.1%, to USD 85.54 a barrel at 0727 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 20 cents, or 0.2%, to USD 79.07 a barrel.

Both benchmarks were up for a second day, after gaining about 1% in the previous session.

“Sentiment shifted amid a positive company reporting season. Signs of cooling inflation also raised expectations that the Fed will be able to pause rate hikes,” ANZ commodities analyst said in a note.

Tamer rate hike expectations helped lower the dollar index, which supported oil prices as a weaker greenback makes the commodity cheaper for buyers holding other currencies.

All eyes will be on a meeting on Wednesday of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, known as OPEC+, where producers are expected to endorse their current output targets agreed in November.

OPEC’s oil output fell in January, as Iraqi exports dropped and Nigeria’s output did not recover, with the 10 OPEC members pumping 920,000 barrels per day (bpd) below the group’s targeted volumes under the OPEC+ agreement, a Reuters survey found.

The shortfall was bigger than the deficit of 780,000 bpd in December.

“Oil prices seem primed to navigate a period of heightened volatility … OPEC+ is likely to stick to its current production targets, however, Russia is leaning towards increasing oil exports to Asian buyers at deep discounts, which can disrupt the balance in oil markets,” independent oil market expert Sugandha Sachdeva said.

Upgraded global growth forecasts by the IMF and the expectation of strong pent-up demand from China amid higher mobility are also underpinning oil prices, Sachdeva added.

Separately, data from the American Petroleum Institute industry group showed crude stocks rose by about 6.3 million barrels in the week ended Jan. 27, according to market sources.

That was a bigger build than the 400,000 barrels that analysts polled by Reuters had expected on average.

Distillate stocks, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by about 1.5 million barrels, contrary to analysts’ expectations of a 1.3 million barrel drop.

(Reporting by Mohi Narayan in New Delhi and Sonali Paul in Melbourne; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

Wage data dents dollar recovery before Fed rate decision

NEW YORK, Jan 31 (Reuters) – The dollar fell on Tuesday, giving up earlier gains, after data showed US labor costs increased less than expected in the fourth quarter, and before the Federal Reserve is expected to hike rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday.

The Employment Cost Index, the broadest measure of labor costs, rose 1.0% last quarter. That was the smallest advance since the fourth quarter of 2021 and followed a 1.2% gain in the July-September period.

Still, it is not seen as likely to sway the US central bank from some further rate hikes.

“Despite the fact that it came in below expectations, objectively speaking it’s still a pretty firm print that means that the Fed is still going to sound hawkish,” said Bipan Rai, North American head of FX strategy at CIBC Capital Markets in Toronto.

Other data on Tuesday also showed that house price growth slowed considerably in November, with a 9.2% increase in the month.

Fed funds futures traders are pricing for the Fed’s benchmark rate to peak at 4.91% in June, up from 4.33% now.

But investors are also bearish on the US economy and see the Fed as having to cut rates back to 4.48% by December. This is despite Fed officials stressing they will need to keep rates in restrictive territory for a period of time in order to bring down inflation.

“(Fed Chair Jerome) Powell and the FOMC will want to flag the fact that we are going to see higher rates for a little bit longer. It’s all about whether or not the market believes that narrative at this point,” said Rai.

The dollar index =USD was last down 0.21% on the day against a basket of currencies at 102.03. It earlier rose to a two-week high of 102.61, which analysts said was likely due in part to repositioning for month-end.

The greenback is also trading just above key technical supports against major currencies including the euro.

The index is on track to post a monthly loss of 1.39% for January, after losing 2.26% in December and 5.07% in November, which was its worst monthly loss since September 2010. The losses in November came on expectations that the Fed would begin slowing rate hikes, which it did in December.

The index has weakened from a 20-year high of 114.78 on Sept. 28.

The euro gained 0.21% on the day to USD 1.0867, after earlier falling to USD 1.0802.

Data on Tuesday showed the euro zone eked out growth in the final three months of 2022, managing to avoid a recession even as sky-high energy costs, waning confidence and rising interest rates took a toll on the economy that is likely to persist into this year.

The European Central Bank and Bank of England are both expected to hike rates by 50 basis points on Thursday.

Sterling fell 0.16% against the dollar to USD 1.2329.

The dollar fell 0.24% against the Japanese yen to 130.12.

(Additional reporting by Harry Robertson in London; Editing by Mark Potter and Mark Heinrich)

Gold set for third monthly rise on softer dollar, Fed slowdown bets

Jan 31 (Reuters) – Gold prices on Tuesday were on track for their third straight monthly gain, helped by an overall weaker dollar and expectations around slower rate hikes from the US Federal Reserve.

Spot gold was near its session-highs, up 0.3% to USD 1,928.81 per ounce by 1:40 p.m. ET (1840 GMT). Bullion has gained 5.7% in January.

US gold futures settled up 0.3% to USD 1,945.3.

The dollar was heading for its fourth consecutive monthly loss, making bullion more attractive for holders of other currencies.

“We have so many event-driven risks throughout this week and investors have to pay attention to that. Gold prices are likely to be volatile,” said Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures in Chicago.

The US central bank policy decision is due at 1900 GMT on Wednesday, followed by a news conference from Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

Traders have priced in a 25-basis-point Fed rate hike to a range of 4.5%-4.75%. They expect rates to peak at 4.9% in June.

Additionally, the European Central Bank and Bank of England are expected to hike rates by 50 basis points on Thursday.

Lower rates tend to be beneficial for bullion, decreasing the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding asset.

Meanwhile, analysts and traders have raised their predictions for gold prices but expect high rates to keep a lid on rallies, a Reuters poll showed.

“Given how markets are expecting the FOMC, BoE and ECB to make a move, the focus is likely to be on what they say rather than the actions they take,” said Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM, in a note.

Markets also await Friday’s US payrolls report for January, with weakening in the labour market translating to decreasing inflation.

Spot silver rose 0.6% to USD 23.72 per ounce while platinum gained 0.3% to USD 1,012.25 – yet both were en route to their first monthly fall in five.

Palladium rose 0.5% to USD 1,647.18, falling for the second consecutive month.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru, additional reporting Arundhati Sarkar; editing by Ed Osmond and Ken Ferris)

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