Gold and Oil

Gold held firm near its highest in a week on Thursday, holding on to gains from a three-day rally sparked by a weaker dollar and safe-haven bids from the Greek debt crisis.

Spot gold was little changed at $1,186 an ounce by 0041 GMT. The metal closed up 0.8 percent on Wednesday after hitting a one-week high of $1,192.10.

The dollar tumbled to two-week lows against the yen on Wednesday after Japan's chief central banker said the yen was "very weak" and unlikely to fall further. The greenback also fell against the euro and a basket of major currencies.

A softer dollar makes gold cheaper for holders of other currencies, while also increasing the metal's safe-haven appeal.

US crude drops as World Bank cuts growth outlook
U.S. crude futures fell early on Thursday as a cut in the World Bank's global growth outlook pulled them away from one-month highs, ending a two-day rally on a big U.S. stock drawdown.

In its twice-yearly Global Economic Prospects report, the World Bank predicted the global economy would expand 2.8 percent this year, below its 3 percent outlook in January.
In oil markets, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on Wednesday that crude oil inventories shrank by 6.8 million barrels last week, their largest drop in almost a year and four times more than forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll.
Yet prices dropped on Thursday as the market remained well supplied despite the drawdown, traders said.