Gold Settles Higher On Weak Dollar, Gains 0.2% For Week

(RTTNews) - Gold futures ended higher for a second straight day on Friday, as the dollar weakened against a basket of major currencies following comments from Federal Reserve's Janet Yellen that the central bank would not likely scale down the quantitative easing program in the near future. Gold also found support after a slew of soft economic data out of the U.S.

Gold prices gained 0.2 percent for the week.

Wholesale inventories in the U.S. rose in line with economist estimates in September, while import prices fell more than expected in October due largely to fuel prices tacking a significant decrease.

A Federal Reserve report revealed industrial production in the U.S. to have unexpectedly declined in October, while the New York Fed's general business condition index turned negative in November from a positive reading in October.

Gold for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, edged up $1.10 or 0.1 percent to close at $1,287.40 an ounce Friday on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold for December delivery scaled an intraday high of $1,290.80 and a low of $1,279.60 an ounce.

Yesterday, gold snapped a five-day loss to end sharply higher after Federal Reserve chairwoman-designate Janet Yellen said the U.S. central bank is in no hurry to taper down its quantitative easing program, even as some soft economic data filtered in.

Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, were unchanged at 865.71 tons.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 80.88 on Friday, down from 81.04 late Thursday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 81.15 intraday and a low of 80.78.

The euro traded higher against the dollar at $1.3486 on Friday, as compared to its previous close of $1.3459 late Thursday in North America. The euro scaled a high of $1.3505 intraday and a low of $1.3434.

In economic news from the U.S., the the Labor Department said said import prices fell by 0.7 percent in October after inching up by 0.1 percent in September. Economists had been expecting import prices to drop by about 0.5 percent. Additionally, the Labor Department said exports prices dropped by 0.5 percent in October following a 0.4 percent increase in the previous month. Export prices had been expected to edge up by 0.2 percent.

A Commerce Department report said wholesale inventories in the U.S. increased by 0.4 percent in September after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.8 percent in August. The increase was in line with economists' estimates. Inventories of durable goods rose 0.3 percent amid a jump in inventories of computers, peripheral equipment and software. Inventories of non-durable goods also increased by 0.5 percent. Meanwhile, wholesale sales increased 0.6 percent in September after rising by 0.4 percent in the previous month.

Meanwhile, the New York Fed said its general business conditions index dropped to a negative 2.2 in November from a positive 1.5 in October, with a negative reading indicating a contraction in manufacturing activity. The negative reading for the general business conditions index came as a surprise to economists, who had expected the index to climb to 5.5.

Separately, a report from the Federal Reserve said industrial production edged down by 0.1 percent in October after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.7 percent in September. Economists had been expecting production to inch up by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.6 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

Elsewhere, euro zone inflation slowed to 0.7 percent in October, as initially estimated, from 1.1 percent in September, final data from Eurostat showed. The rate was the lowest since November 2009. Moreover, it has remained below the European Central Bank's target of 'below, but close to 2 percent' for the ninth month in a row. Month-on-month, consumer prices were down 0.1 percent in October, the statistical office said.