Gold and oil surge on Ukraine war fears as poor data pummels the euro
Euro hits two-year low on poor data, higher gas prices
Gold headed for largest weekly gain in over a year
Bitcoin on verge of $100,000 for first time
Global stocks gain, led by tech
Updates price action
By Naomi Rovnick and Tom Westbrook
LONDON/SINGAPORE, Nov 22 (Reuters) -Gold, oil, and haven assets from the Swiss franc to German government debt headed for strong weekly gains on Friday after the Russia-Ukraine conflict escalated, while European gas price rises and poor economic data heaped pressure on the euro.
In a week when Russia lowered its threshold for using nuclear weapons and fired a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile at Ukraine, gold was set for its best week in a year.
The euro EUR=UBS tumbled to its lowest since December 2022, last at $1.0432 and down 0.4% on the day, after surveys showed business activity in the bloc took a surprisingly sharp turn for the worse this month.
European gas contracts TRNLTTFMc1 hit a one-year high, broadening concerns for the euro zone economy already pressured by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's proposed trade tariffs, Germany's government collapse and France's wide budget deficit.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 gained 0.5% on Friday to $74.60 a barrel, up 5% this week, after Russia responded to the U.S. and UK allowing Kyiv to strike its territory with Western weapons by firing a hypersonic intermediate-range missile at Ukraine's Dnipro.
"Those weapons typically carry nuclear warheads," said analysts at ANZ Bank."The exchange indicates the war has entered a new phase, raising concerns around disruptions to (oil) supply."
The index tracking the U.S. dollar against rival currencies =USD climbed to a 13 month peak of 107.15 on Friday, boosted by haven buying as well as expectations that Trump's America-first policies would boost growth and inflation.
Bets that Trump's administration would take a lighter-touch approach to regulation propelled bitcoin BTC= to the brink of $100,000 for the first time.
Gold XAU= was up 1% at $2,688 an ounce on Friday and 5.2% higher for the week, while sterling GBP=D3 dropped 0.4% on the day to a six-month low of $1.253.
Traders expect Trump's tariffs to boost domestic consumer prices, with money markets pricing about a 58% chance of a Federal Reserve rate cut next month, down from 83% a week ago. 0#USDIRPR.
That has restricted haven buying of U.S. Treasuries, usually considered the world's least risky and most liquid financial assets, with the benchmark ten-year yield US10YT=RR down just 2 basis points this week at 4.3892%.
Geopolitical concerns have raised appetite for European haven assets however.
Germany's 10-year Bund yield DE10YT=RR dropped 7 bps to 2.244% on Friday, reflecting forecasts for faster European Central Bank rate cuts. The Swiss franc CHF=EBS, at €0.9264, was on course for a 1.7% weekly gain.
In equities, traders' reassessment of artificial intelligence chip-making giant Nvidia's prospects .NVDA.O following a lukewarm response to its results earlier this week supported global stocks.
MSCI's world stock index .MIWO00000PUS was set for a 1.1% weekly rise although Europe's Stoxx 600 .STOXX traded flat to head for its fifth straight weekly loss.
Britain's exporter-heavy FTSE 100 .FTSE got a 0.7% daily boost from sterling weakening against the dollar, set for its best week since August, although futures ESc1 hinted at mild losses for Wall Street's blue-chip S&P 500 later in the day.
In Asia, chipmakers' stocks helped with Taiwanese .TWII gain 1.5%, South Korea's tech-heavy .KS11 rose 0.8% and Japan's Nikkei .N225 advancing 0.8%.
Disappointing corporate earnings weighed on sentiment in China, however, with the blue-chip CSI300 index .CSI300 down 3.1% on Friday and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index .HSI 1.9% lower.
In India, shares of Adani Group companies and their dollar bonds remained under pressure following Chairman Gautam Adani's indictment for fraud by U.S. prosecutors.
Data in Japan showed core inflation held above the central bank's 2% target in October, leading markets to price about a 57% chance of a 25-basis-point Bank of Japan rate hike in December although the yen JPY=EBS remained weak.
The Japanese currency was last at 154.82 per dollar after sliding 4% this quarter.
World FX rates YTD http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Asian stock markets https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
Additional reporting by Ankur Banerjee; Editing by Shri Navaratnam, Kim Coghill and Christina Fincher
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