Gold slumps ₹226; silver tumbles ₹462

In the international market, gold traded lower at $ 1,747 per ounce and silver was flat at $22.35 per ounce.

Gold in the national capital on Wednesday plunged ₹226 to ₹45,618 per 10 grams in line with a decline in international precious metal prices, according to HDFC Securities.

In the previous trade, the precious metal had settled at ₹45,844 per 10 grams.

Silver also tumbled ₹462 to ₹59,341 per kg, from ₹59,803 per kg in the previous trade.

In the international market, gold traded lower at $ 1,747 per ounce and silver was flat at $22.35 per ounce.

"Gold prices traded weak with spot gold prices at COMEX (New York-based commodity exchange) trading 0.72 per cent lower at $1,747 per ounce on Wednesday.

"Gold prices traded lower amid firm dollar and rally in US bond yields," said HDFC Securities Senior Analyst (Commodities) Tapan Patel.

German industrial output slumps in August on supply chain woes

BERLIN, Oct 7 (Reuters) – German industrial output dropped by far more than expected in August due to supply chain disruptions that are holding back growth in Europe’s biggest economy, official data showed on Thursday.

The Federal Statistics Office said industrial output fell by 4.0% on the month after an increase of 1.3% in July. A Reuters poll had pointed to a decline in August of 0.4%.

“Manufacturers continue to report production constraints due to supply shortages of intermediate products,” the Office said in a statement.

Crude Oil Futures Settle Sharply Lower

Crude oil prices drifted lower on Wednesday, coming of multi-year highs, amid concerns about slowing economic growth, high inflation and fears of interest rate hikes from central banks.

Data showing an increase in U.S. crude inventories has raised concerns over slowing fuel demand.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended down by $1.50 or about 1.9% at $77.43 a barrel after falling to a low of $77.06 a barrel.

Natural gas futures for November, which had ended with a hefty gain on Tuesday, tumbled $0.64 or more than 10% today to settle at $5.675/mln Btus.

Brent crude futures were down $1.48 or 1.79% at $81.08 a barrel a little while ago.

Data released by U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) this morning showed crude stockpiles increased by 2.35 million barrels last week versus expectations for a drop of 418,000 barrels.

Gasoline inventories increased by 3.26 million barrels in the week ended October 1, while distillates stockpiles dropped by 396,000 barrels in the week.

The report also said crude production increased to 11.3 million barrels per day.

A report released by the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday showed U.S. crude inventories rose by 951,000 barrels in the week to October 1. Gasoline and distillate fuel inventories rose as well last week.

FDA Issues EUA For ACON Labs’ Flowflex COVID-19 Home Test

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an emergency use authorization for the ACON Laboratories’ Flowflex COVID-19 Home Test, an over-the-counter COVID-19 antigen test that can be used at home without a prescription.

According to the health regulator, the authorization for Flowflex COVID-19 Home Test significantly increases the availability of at-home tests and is expected to double rapid at-home testing capacity in the U.S. over the next several weeks.

By years end, the manufacturer plans to produce more than 100 million tests per month, and this number will rise to 200 million per month by February 2022.

Since March 2020, the FDA has authorized more than 400 COVID-19 tests and sample collection devices, including authorizations for rapid, OTC at-home tests.

According to reports, rapid tests are currently ten times more expensive in the U.S. than in other countries. Health experts expect easy availability of at-home Covid tests can help people to quickly identify whether they are positive with the virus and take the needed precautions.

New Japan finance minister Suzuki warns against any rapid yen moves

TOKYO, Oct 7 (Reuters) – Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki on Thursday warned against rapid currency moves, saying he was closely watching the foreign exchange market as the yen hovered near 18-month lows against the dollar.

The new finance minister made the comment when asked about the yen’s weakening and its impact on the Japanese economy. He was speaking in a group interview after assuming his post on Monday under the newly formed cabinet of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

European Economics Preview: Germany Unemployment Data Due

Unemployment from Germany and revised quarterly national accounts from the UK are due on Thursday, headlining a busy day for the European economic news.

At 2.00 am ET, the Office for National Statistics releases UK final GDP data for the second quarter. According to first estimates, the economy had expanded 4.8 percent sequentially after falling 1.6 percent in the first quarter.

In the meantime, Destatis is slated to issue Germany’s ILO unemployment data for August.

At 2.45 am ET, the French statistical office Insee publishes flash consumer and harmonized consumer prices, household consumption and producer prices figures. Consumer price inflation is forecast to rise to 2.2 percent in September from 1.9 percent in August.

At 3.00 am ET, retail sales from Spain, producer prices from Hungary and the KOF leading indicator from Switzerland are due.

At 3.55 am ET, the Federal Labor Agency publishes Germany’s unemployment data for September. The jobless rate is expected to fall to 5.4 percent from 5.5 percent in August.

At 4.00 am ET, unemployment from Italy is due. Economists forecast the rate to fall marginally to 9.2 percent in August from 9.3 percent in July.

At 5.00 am ET, Eurostat is scheduled to issue euro area unemployment data for August. The jobless rate is seen at 7.5 percent versus 7.6 percent in July.

Also, Italy’s preliminary consumer and harmonized price data is due at 5.00 am ET. Consumer price inflation is expected to advance to 2.4 percent in September from 2 percent in August.