Gold Ends Session Notably Lower, But Posts Near 10% Gain In Week

Gold prices weakened on Friday as a decline in stock prices prompted investors to trim down positions in the safe-haven asset class in order to raise funds to meet margin calls.

However, a weak dollar limited the yellow metal’s decline. The dollar index was down 0.64% at 98.72 about an hour ago.

Gold futures for April ended down $26.20, or about 1.6%, at $1,625.00 an ounce, after dropping to a low of $1,611.40 an ounce.

On Thursday, gold futures ended up $17.80, or about 1.1%, at $1,651.20 an ounce. For the week, gold futures gained about 9.5%.

Silver futures for May ended down $0.142 at $14.534 an ounce, while Copper futures for May closed lower by $0.0600 at $2.1720 per pound.

In economic news, revised data from the University of Michigan showed consumer sentiment in the U.S. deteriorated by much more than initially estimated in the month of March.

The report said the consumer sentiment index for March was downwardly revised to 89.1 from the preliminary reading of 95.9.

The consumer sentiment index is now down sharply from the final February reading of 101.0, reflecting the fourth largest one-month decline in nearly a half-century.

The Commerce Department’s report showed personal income climbed by 0.6% in February, matching the increase seen in January. Economists had expected income to rise by 0.4%.

Meanwhile, personal spending edged up by 0.2% for the second straight month, matching expectations.

Google Offers $800 Million to Virus Relief, Including Ad Credits

Google is pledging $800 million in relief funds to customers and health-care workers, joining a list of corporations providing money and materials to address the coronavirus pandemic.

The contributions include $250 million in advertising credits for the World Health Organization and $340 million to small businesses to run promotions with Google, Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer of Google and parent Alphabet Inc., announced Friday. The economic fallout from the pandemic has dried up marketing spending. Another $20 million gives researchers working on the novel virus credits to use the company’s cloud-computing services.

Google also said it would be working with a partner, Magid Glove and Safety Manufacturing LLC, a supplier based in Illinois, to produce between 2 million and 3 million face masks in the coming weeks. Protective masks are in dire shortage across hospitals in the U.S.

Oil-Industry Collapse Accelerates as Scores of Rigs Go Dark

The oil industry’s meltdown is accelerating as explorers shut down scores of drilling rigs across the U.S. in response to cratering crude prices and expanding supply gluts.

Oil companies idled 40 rigs this week, twice the pace of last week’s reduction and the steepest contraction since April 2015, according to data released by Baker Hughes Co. on Friday.

More than half the shutdowns occurred in the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico, an ominous sign for an industry that survived the last market crash in large part by retreating to that region because of its resilience to weak pricing.

Benchmark U.S. oil futures have plunged 65% this year and are on pace for the most painful quarter since at least 1990. This week’s rig shutdowns bring the two-week total to 59, a cut of almost 9% of the nation’s active fleet.

North America, which has been roiled by contractions in the past, may see a sharper, more abrupt cut in drilling activity before the end of the second quarter, Schlumberger Ltd., the world’s biggest oilfield service company, said this week.

Halliburton Co., the king of fracking and the No. 3 overall service provider, is planning for almost two thirds of all rigs on the continent to shut down by the fourth quarter.

Oil Futures Settle Sharply Lower, Post 5th Straight Weekly Loss

Crude oil prices drifted lower on Friday, losing for a second successive day, as worries about energy demand outlook outweighed massive stimulus announced by central banks and governments to limit the economic impact of the coronavirus spread.

Oil’s slide was somewhat limited by a report from Baker Hughes that said active oil rigs count in the U.S. saw a significant drop this week.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended down $1.09, or about 4.8%, at $21.51 a barrel, after touching a low of $20.88 in the session.

Brent crude futures were last seen trading at $25.10, down $1.26, or about 4.75%.

On Thursday, WTI crude oil futures ended lower by 7.7%, at $22.60 a barrel, after having added about 8% in the previous three sessions.

Oil prices dropped by about 5% in the week, going down for a fifth straight week.

In its latest report, the International Energy Agency has warned that global demand for crude oil will likely fall by as much as 20 million barrels per day.

Meanwhile, data released by Baker Hughes said the number of active oil rigs in the U.S. dropped by 40 to 624 in the week.

‘Grimm’ Co-creator David Greenwalt Signs With APA; Innovative Inks ‘Sacred Lies’ Actress Jordan Alexander

APA has added Grimm co-creator David Greenwalt to its client roster along with Roni Greenwalt and their Swan Song production banner.  David was also the co-showrunner on the hit NBC series, which ran for six seasons. Prior to that, David served as executive producer on Buffy The Vampire Slayer before creating and exec producing the spin-off, Angel. He’s also the co-creator behind the short-lived cult series, Profit. David’s other reps include LBI Entertainment and Brecheen Feldman.

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Innovative Artists has signed Canadian actress and recording artist Jordan Alexander for agency representation. On the small screen, Alexander recently landed her first major role starring opposite Juliette Lewis and Ryan Kwanten in the second season of the Facebook Watch/Blumhouse TV anthology drama, Sacred Lies: The Singing Bones., which debuted last month. She plays Elsie, a young girl who searches for the family she never knew after being abandoned as a child. Created by Raelle Tucker, the series draws inspiration from a story collected from the Brothers Grimm, The Singing Bone, as well as real-life murder cases. Alexander continues to be repped by Noble Caplan Abrams.