Overnight reports showed Chinese GDP grew at 7.4% in the third quarter of 2012

Overnight reports showed Chinese GDP grew at 7.4% in the third quarter of 2012 and while that’s relatively in-line with expectations it’s still moving in the wrong direction. However, retail sales, industrial output and fixed asset investments in the world’s #2 economy were shown to have improved. Considering that, up until this global economic crisis, China had enjoyed consistent growth around 10% a year, the China piece to the puzzle remains uncertain at best. The EU summit begins today as leaders from the region put forth efforts to further unify the union and hopefully start moving toward growth and prosperity. Yesterday’s news that Moody’s did not change Spain’s credit rating has led many to believe that the country will tap the ESM-ATM which has seemingly eased concerns of euro area instability. Although, there is that Greece situation! US initial jobless claims “unexpectedly” rose 46,000 to 388,000, the highest level in four months. The “surprising” news came just a week after reports showed a drop in first time jobless claims. However, those numbers were apparently missing data from a large state…has anyone seen Jack Welch? The collective of the day’s events and the resulting modest pessimistic sentiment have weighed on the precious complex this morning. Left on tap for today, the Philly Fed Business Outlook set for release at 10:00 am ET. Have a great day!