Gold Ends Marginally Lower, But Gains 5.4% For Week

(RTTNews) - Gold futures snapped a four-day gain to settle a shade lower on Friday, with the dollar strengthening against some major currencies and investors opting for a slice of profit ahead of the weekend. Gold prices rollicked yesterday after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it would continue to maintain its quantitative easing policy and low interest rates in the near foreseeable future.

Nonetheless, gold prices gained 5.4 percent for the week.

Gold for August delivery, the most actively traded contract, dropped $2.30 or 0.2 percent to close at $1,277.60 an ounce Friday on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold for August delivery scaled an intraday high of $1,282.30 and a low of $1,273.30 an ounce.

Yesterday, gold was up for a fourth straight day at a near three-week high, on a weak dollar after the U.S. Federal Reserve indicated it would continue its quantitative easing policy, with the Fed Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke assuring to hold interest rates at a low level even after unemployment rate touches the targeted rate.

Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, were unchanged at 939.07 tons.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 82.96 on Friday, up from 82.75 late Thursday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 83.24 intraday and a low of 82.72.

The euro traded lower against the dollar at $1.3058 on Friday, as compared to $1.3097 late Thursday in North America. The euro scaled a high of $1.3102 intraday and a low of $1.3000.

In economic news from the U.S., the Labor Department's producer price index rose 0.8 percent in June following a 0.5 percent increase in May. Economists expected the growth to match the increase seen in the previous month. Excluding food and energy prices, core producer prices edged up by 0.2 percent in June after inching up by 0.1 percent in May. The increase in core prices matched economist estimates.

Meanwhile, according to a report released by Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan Consumer sentiment in the U.S. has seen a modest deterioration in the month of July, with the index dipping to 83.9 in July from the final June reading of 84.1. Economists expected the index to remain unchanged compared to the previous month.

Elsewhere, eurozone industrial production declined 0.3 percent month-on-month in May, in line with expectations, reversing April's 0.5 percent rise, data from Eurostat showed. The decline was driven by a 1.5 percent fall in capital goods output and 2.3 percent decrease in durable consumer goods. On a yearly basis, industrial production slipped 1.3 percent, more than double the 0.6 percent drop seen in April. The annual rate of decline matched economists' expectations.