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Gold prices slipped back towards $1,550 an ounce on Friday, ending the metal’s three-session rally, as a ratings downgrade of debt-laden Spain pressured the euro, and consumers in major Asian bullion-buying centres shunned the precious metal.

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Italy was forced to pay higher interest rates to entice investors to buy a little under (euro) 5 billion worth of its 5- and 10-year bonds.

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Honda Motor said its full-year profit plunged 60.4 percent but it showed signs of recovery in the final quarter, bouncing back from the impact of natural disasters in Japan and Thailand.

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Asian markets were mixed Friday following an uneven set of data from the United States, while sentiment was weighed by news that Spain’s credit rating had been slashed.

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The euro dipped and investors sought safety in German government bonds on Friday as a two-notch downgrade of Spain’s credit rating ahead of a key Italian bond auction increased nervousness about the struggling economies in the euro zone.

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Spain’s economic problems were put in sharp relief Friday as figures showed unemployment is near 25 percent and a credit ratings agency hours earlier downgraded the country’s debt rating, warning it faces an uphill battle to get a grip on its finances.

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India will urge its airlines to boycott the European Union’s carbon charge scheme, raising the prospect of a global trade war over a law requiring flights in and out of Europe to pay for their greenhouse gas emissions.

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Standard & Poor’s on Thursday cut its credit rating on Spain by two notches, citing expectations the government finances will deteriorate even more than previously thought as a result of a contracting economy and an ailing banking sector.

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Starbucks Corp reported better-than-expected quarterly profit but global sales at established coffee shops fell short of analysts’ estimates due to weakness in Europe, sending its shares down five percent in after-hours trade on Thursday.

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