Currencies EUR/USD The 17-nation euro held yesterday’s gain versus the greenback after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Europe must be united in protecting stability in the currency. The dollar dropped 0.1 percent to $1.3178 per euro as of 6:37 a.m. in London from $1.3161 in New York yesterday when it slid 0.6 percent. USD/JPY A gauge of volatility for the yen climbed to the highest this year amid speculation Japan will intervene in the foreign-exchange market. The Japanese currency traded at 76.12 per dollar, 1 percent from the record high of 75.35 set on Oct. 31. AUD/USD Australia’s dollar reached a five-month high after a report showed the nation’s trade surplus widened in December to A$1.71 billion ($1.83 billion) from a revised A$1.34 billion the previous month. Australia’s dollar climbed 0.2 percent to $1.0726 after touching $1.0757, the most since Sept. 1. Commodities Oil traded near the lowest in six weeks as U.S. crude stockpiles increased more than estimated and gasoline use fell to a 10-year low. Crude for March delivery was at $97.40 a barrel, down 21 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 12:55 p.m. Singapore time. Gold advanced to the highest level in eight weeks, gaining alongside equities and other commodities, as global manufacturing improved, weakening the dollar and boosting demand for alternative investments. Gold rallied as much as 0.5 percent to $1,751.97 an ounce, the most expensive since Dec. 8, and traded at $1,746.30 at 1:20 p.m. in Singapore. Equities Asian stocks markets jumped Thursday, after surveys signaled that global manufacturing improved in January and Facebook filed for what’s likely to be the biggest-ever market debut for an Internet stock. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 1.2 percent to 124.57 as of 1:45 p.m. in Tokyo, poised for its highest close since Oct. 28. European (SXXP) stock advanced to a six- month high, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index extending its best start to a year since 1998, as gauges of manufacturing increased from America to the euro area to China. The Stoxx 600 rose 2 percent to 259.51 at the close in London, its highest level since August. U.S. stocks advanced, snapping a four-day decline in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, amid signs that manufacturing across the world is strengthening. The S&P 500 increased 0.9 percent to 1,324.09 at 4 p.m. New York time, following the biggest January advance in 15 years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 83.55 points, or 0.7 percent, to 12,716.46, trimming an earlier 152-point gain that sent it above its highest close since May.

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