Greece

Moody’s has trimmed the rating for Greece by 2 notches to Ca Monday which is just one notch before the default status. The ratings agency warned that chance of a default is now “virtually 100 percent.”

Moody’s noted that while the bailout agreed last week by euro zone leaders will help Greece to reduce its debt, the country still faces medium-term solvency challenges and significant implementation risks.

German and French leaders have come to a consensus over the second bailout for Greece in a move to avert crisis for the whole Europe and the world.

After 7 hours of talks between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Berlin. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet was present for part of their talks.

Now their decision will be presented to crisis summit in Brussels on Thursday starting at 1100 GMT of all 17 leaders of the bloc.

Prices for spot gold remained steady on Wednesday sticking to their 5% gain during the past seven sessions and moving towards its record high on escalating fears over a euro zone debt.

"Investors are really fearful that the debt crisis will spread to nations beyond Greece," said Ong Yi Ling, an analyst at Phillip Futures.

The head of the OECD warned Monday that Europe needs to present a plan to involve private investors into the global effort to help Greece and give Athens time to deal with its problems.

"Time is critical, time is important to avoid a liquidity problem becoming a solvency problem. Time is of the essence also in order to allow for a recovery of everyone," Angel Gurria, head of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, told reporters.

Moody’s downgraded Portugal’s credit standing to junk, the first ratings agency that made the move which mean the country may need a second round of rescue funds before it can return to capital markets.

The rating cut was not absolutely unexpected and reminded that troubles in Europe are not ending with Greece’s bailout.

Some economists think Ireland may also need additional support, and investors worry Spain and Italy could be next in line for aid.

The euro lost its gains against the dollar and the yen as traders sold the single currency after Standard & Poor's warned that Greece's debt rollover plan could shift the ratings into selective default.

Meanwhile, the euro fell to a 4-day low against the pound.

The euro declined to a 4-day low of 0.9007 against the pound, compared to last week's close of 0.9043. If the euro slides further, it will fall below 0.90 and target the 0.898 level.

On Monday gold increased by 0.5% as investors decided to benefit from the lowered prices while expecting the euro to further advance against the US dollar.

Spot gold was quoted at $1,494.59 an ounce at 1138 GMT compared to $1,485.80 late in New York on Friday. U.S. gold futures for August delivery rose $12.60 an ounce to $1,495.20.

Greece last week approved austerity measures needed for it to access another tranche of funding from the European Union and IMF, sparking a relief rally in some assets seen as higher risk, and weighing on gold.

Spot gold remained steady during Friday trades completing the week of narrow trading as investor appetite for the save haven bullion diminished on Greece’s austerity measures.

Thursday Greek parliament passed the final austerity measures so as to get the emergency financing from the international lenders and avoid a default.

Meantime, it is widely expected that concerns over troubling US economy will support gold’s appeal.

Spot gold was little changed at $1,498.70 an ounce by 0602 GMT, nearly flat from a week earlier.

Gold dropped slightly on growing investors’ appetite for risk after Greece looked increasingly likely to push through austerity measures, which offset the potentially bullish impact of a weaker dollar.

During the past three months gold has been benefiting from the investor concerns over Greece's potential to affect the rest of the euro zone economy, of the triple disaster in Japan and over the outlook for global economic growth.

Tuesday gold increased again to above $1,500 an ounce in Europe regaining its losses in line with oil prices as hopes that Greece's debt crisis may be contained tempered risk aversion.

Gold is closely linked to foreign exchange moves, as it is often traded as a currency.

Spot gold was bid at $1,501.39 an ounce at 1108 GMT, against $1,496.20 late in New York on Monday. U.S. gold futures for August delivery GCv1 rose $5.90 an ounce to $1,502.30.

Gold prices leveled on Friday after dropping 2% in the previous session supported by concerns over Greece's ability to remain solvent.

At 0928 GMT spot gold traded at $1,521.00. But while gold looked vulnerable according to the charts, analysts said the high level of uncertainty would stem any steeper sell-offs.

"Technically, it doesn't look ideal, but even if we breach $1510, at $1,480. we'll stop. I can't see people liquidating gold right now with everything that is happening," said VTB Capital analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov.

Gold appreciated on Monday having reached its biggest one-day gain in three weeks in the previous session, as the U.S. dollar lost ground and equities firmed on hopes of progress on Greece's debt crisis.

Spot gold added $1.40 to $1,539.80 an ounce by 0028 GMT after rising above $1,541 on Friday. Gold is still below a lifetime high around $1,575 touched in early May.

Silver was steady at $36.00 an ounce, below a record at $49.51 an ounce in April.

On Tuesday the US President Barack Obama talked to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and urged European countries to prevent a "disastrous" default by Greece. He promised that the United States would also provide its support as it fears the impact of euro crisis on its own economy.

Obama underlined the importance of German "leadership" on the issue. He clearly gave to understand that he expects Berlin to intervene.

Gold prices steadied at their highest in about four weeks on Tuesday. The move was backed by investors’ concerns over the mess in Europe about a Greek debt default.

A Wall Street Journal report that Germany could make concessions on efforts to put together a bailout for Greece lifted the euro and boosted equities and base metals at the expense of perceived safe-havens such as gold or bonds.

Mexican central bank chief Agustin Carstens , the only declared rival to French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde in her bid for candidacy to lead the International Monetary Fund, said a non-European head of the Fund would mean tougher measures against euro zone crisis. Meantime, all we know that it won’t ever happen.

"It would be appropriate to have a non-European because a pair of fresh eyes could see European problems with greater objectivity," Carstens told El Pais in a visit to Spain as part of a tour to campaign for the job.