Markets: FTSE 100 down for the third day in a row

FTSE 100 down 0.1% to 6,829
Gold down 0.43% to $1,233.64/oz
£/$ - 1.5254

Miners were back among the worst performers. Fresnillo fell 4.1% and Randgold was 3.5% lower, while Rio Tinto, Antofagasta and BHP Billiton lost between 3.3% and 3.1%. Biggest faller of the day was Royal Mail, which slid 4.9%.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8% to 17,868, the S&P 500 gained 1.1% to 2,068, and the Nasdaq Composite was 1.3% higher at 4,787.

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Japan's markets were closed for a public holiday. And in China, the Shanghai Composite rose 1.4% to 3,157, and the CSI 300 added 0.8% to 3,434.

Brent spot was trading at $56.58 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $50.26. Spot gold was trading at $1,238 an ounce, silver was at $17.01 and platinum was at $1,207.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.5258 and against the euro at 1.3489. The dollar was trading at 0.8840 against the euro and 119.65 against the Japanese yen.

And in the UK, housebuilder Redrow reported record profits for the six months to 31 December. Pre-tax profit rose by 92% to £91.2m, with revenue up by 54% to £560.6m.

David Stevenson, former MoneyWeek writer and director of The Fleet Street Letter, believessilver could be about to start a record climb. Click here(capital at risk)to read about the three irresistible forces David believes could push the price of silver through the roof.

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