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EU heads of state will call for quicker action on the use of immobilized Russian assets at a meeting next week, according to a document seen by CNBC.

Gold prices rose in Saudi Arabia on Friday, according to data compiled by FXStreet.

The GBP/USD pair gains positive traction for the third consecutive day on Friday and moves further away from its lowest level since early August, around the 1.3250-1.3245 region touched earlier this week.

US futures are down after some modest selling yesterday, with financials leading the downside despite a positive start to earnings season. The cause? Zions Bancorp and Western Alliance Bancorp disclosed ties to fraud-linked loan exposure and that’s making for worries about wider scale lending fraud in the system.

The drop yesterday continues to weigh on the broader market mood today, with US futures also lower across the board. S&P 500 futures are down 0.5% with tech shares also feeling heavy. In Europe, major indices missed out on the late dump in the US and are having to play catch up in the session ahead. Eurostoxx futures are down nearly 1% with DAX futures lower by 1.2% currently as we look to the session ahead.

In the bond market, Treasury yields are also slumping as bonds stay more bid with 10-year yields cracking below the 4% mark. That’s a key level to be wary of and in part is also helping to fuel the gains in the likes of gold towards the end of the week. The precious metal is up another 1% to $4,367 currently, recovering well from the dip to $4,280 earlier in Asia trading.

This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.

Gold prices rose in Philippines on Friday, according to data compiled by FXStreet.

The USD/CHF pair continues losing ground for the fourth successive day – also marking the fifth day of a negative move in the previous six– and drops to an over two-week low during the Asian session on Thursday.

Gold prices rose in United Arab Emirates on Friday, according to data compiled by FXStreet.

The situation is as such currently:

• With Komeito breaking the ruling coalition alliance, the LDP no longer commands a clear majority in parliament
• In fact, there is no single party or clear-cut coalition that commands a majority at the moment
• That is forcing the LDP to seek alternative partners to strike a compromise in order to secure a majority
• The LDP has chosen to try and tie up with the Nippon Ishin party and the first round of talks begun yesterday
• Meanwhile, opposition parties are also scrambling to find a unified deal/pact to challenge Takaichi and the LDP
• As things stand, Yuichiro Tamaki of the DPFP party is the name being floated around to lead the possible alliance
• But again, it depends if opposition parties can coordinate and get behind a single candidate to represent their cause

Despite facing some opposition, the vote for the next prime minister is now set for 21 October. I would think the LDP wouldn’t be careless enough to push forward with that unless they are sure that they could finalise an alliance with Nippon Ishin later today or over the weekend at least.

The Japanese lower house has 465 seats in total and for any candidate to win, they would need a simple majority of 233 seats. Now, a straight deal between the LDP and Nippon Ishin would not be enough to cover the simple majority needed to win. But if there are enough abstentions (question marks on Komeito still as well) or some of the smaller parties do side with them, then that should see a path for Takaichi to become the next prime minister.

The tricky part now is whether or not all opposition parties, including Komeito, will do their part in voting against Takaichi and the alliance between the LDP and Nippon Ishin. If they manage to somehow band together and stay unified under a single banner, that could ultimately see Tamaki come out ahead as prime minister.

It’s not the simplest arrangement but at the same time, it’s not the hardest thing to imagine happening. I’d wager the odds as being closer to a coin flip now than the LDP-Nippon Ishin pact as being the clear favourite, even if the odds are tilted towards their favour still.

In short, there’s plenty of little nuances still in play that will make the difference in the vote on Tuesday next week.

For now, we’ll have to take one step at a time. And for today, that means scrutinising what becomes of the talks between the LDP and Nippon Ishin first.

This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.

What’s more to say about gold that hasn’t already been said? The surge higher continues and has been unrelenting this week with price moving up by over $300. Absolutely wild stuff. And with the gains so far today, gold is hoping to secure five straight days of gains all throughout this week.

There was another volatility spike earlier in Asia, which saw price fall back to $4,280. However, that is quickly bought up now as we see gold move back up to $4,370 levels.

US-China trade tensions remain the sticky issue this week but the bond market is also starting to see some fresh developments. I warned earlier this week that we are at a key juncture and things are finally unraveling now as we get into the final trading day of the week.

10-year yields are now looking to firmly break below the 4% mark and that could indicate a major shift in sentiment, as outlined here. So, just be wary of that in having to look at other things that are happening in broader markets as we move into the second half of October trading.

This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.

EUR/JPY loses ground for the third consecutive day, trading around 175.70 during the Asian hours on Friday.