The Swiss balance of trade figures for December showed a surplus of CHF 1.36 billion. UK house prices increased by 0.6 in January from December and were up 3.6% in the three months to the end of January. The ECB and the BoE have left their interest rates unchanged at 1.00% and 0.50% respectively. The number of US citizens filing first-time claims for state unemployment benefits rose to 480,000. US labour costs fell by 4.4% in the fourth quarter of 2009 and productivity rose sharply by 6.2% for the same period. There were strong fluctuations in the price of gold, which plunged from $1124.45 to $1060.10 in the space of 24 hours.