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The euro lifted off a four-month low against the dollar on Friday, as investors pared bearish bets after earlier falls but concerns about a Greek euro exit and instability in the Spanish banking system were likely to keep it under pressure. Investors preferred the relative safety of the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen and were reluctant to buy riskier assets after Moody's cut the credit ratings of 16 Spanish banks on Thursday.[+]

Oil prices slipped below $107 a barrel on Friday and hit a 2012 low as investors fought shy of riskier, growth-oriented assets on fears that Greece would leave the euro, and after a downgrade of 16 Spanish banks by Moody's added to the contagion gloom. Brent crude was down 51 cents to $106.98 a barrel by 1122 GMT after earlier slipping to its lowest level for the year at $106.40. U.S. crude was up 16 cents to $92.72.[+]

Gold reversed course and edged down on Friday after posting its biggest daily rise in more than three months the previous session, as the euro weakened on mounting worries over the euro zone debt crisis. The single currency dropped to a four-month low against the dollar as investors fretted about the possibility of Greece's exit from the euro zone and about Spain's banking sector after Moody's downgraded 16 Spanish banks.[+]

Gold extended losses on Wednesday to slip to its weakest level since late December after the collapse of efforts in Greece to form a new government, prompting investors to cut exposure to the precious metal. Bullion has this year been moving in tandem with assets that are perceived to be risky, shedding its status as a safe haven in times of economic instability.[+]

The euro hit another four-month low against the dollar on Wednesday and was likely to extend hefty losses sustained so far this month after Greece said it would hold new elections, boosting the risk Athens could exit the euro. The prospect of prolonged political instability in the debt-ridden country, compounded by skittish sovereign bond markets sent Asian bourses sharply lower, with analysts saying the euro and other risk-sensitive currencies would remain under severe pressure.[+]

Oil fell more than $1 on Wednesday, with the U.S. benchmark dropping to a more than 6-month low, as a larger-than-expected rise in crude stocks in the United States and fears of Greece's exit from the euro zone muddied the outlook for demand growth.[+]

Brent crude futures fell towards $111 a barrel on Tuesday as Greece's political and economic turmoil deepened and worries that the debt-laden country could leave the euro zone sparked a sell-off in dollar-denominated commodities. Brent prices slid for a fourth consecutive day, hammered by fears of a slowdown in the global economy with European data due on Tuesday expected to show the region slipping back into a second recession in just three years.[+]

Risk assets from shares to commodities fell to multi-month lows on Tuesday as investors sought refuge from the political turmoil that is fuelling fears of Greece's exit from the euro and threatening to undo progress made so far to solve the euro zone's debt crisis. European shares were expected to follow Asian peers lower, with financial spreadbetters predicting that major European markets .FTSE .FCHI .GDAXI would open down 0.3 percent. U.S. stock futures were up 0.3 percent. .EU .L .N[+]

Gold struggled to make headway on Friday as the downgrading of Spain's credit rating fuelled concerns about the debt-stricken euro zone, and a stronger dollar after the latest easing move by the Bank of Japan added to the pressure. Bullion, which has mostly been tracking riskier assets, hit a two-week high at $1,660.60 on Thursday on upbeat U.S. housing data and the tailwind of the U.S. Federal Reserve's brighter economic outlook and pledge to use more easing should the economy deteriorate.[+]

Spain's sickly economy faces a "crisis of huge proportions", a minister said on Friday, as unemployment hit its highest level in two decades and Standard and Poor's weighed in with a two-notch downgrade of the government's debt. Spain's unemployment rate shot up to 24 percent in the first quarter, the highest level since the early 1990s and one of the worst jobless figures in the world. Retail sales slumped for the twenty-first consecutive month.[+]