Gold Ends At Near 4-Month Low; Sheds 3.5% For Week
Washington (May 30) Gold futures dropped for a fifth straight session to end at a near four-month low on Friday, with investors tracking declining equity markets after some some mixed economic data out of the US, despite the dollar weakening against a basket of major currencies.
Gold futures shed 3.5% for the week, and declined 3.9% for the month.
Gold for August delivery, the most actively traded contract, dropped USD11.10 or 0.9% to close at USD1,246.00 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Friday.
Gold for June delivery scaled an intraday high of USD1,260.60 and a low of USD1,242.20 an ounce.
On Thursday, gold futures ended lower on some mixed economic data out of the US
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, remained unchanged at 785.28 tons on Friday from its previous close.
The dollar index, which tracks the US unit against six major currencies, traded at 80.36 on Friday, down from its previous close of 80.50 late Thursday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 80.50 intraday and a low of 80.31.
The euro traded higher against the dollar at USD1.3637 on Friday, as compared to its previous close of USD1.3602 late Thursday in North American trade. The euro scaled a high of USD1.3650 intraday and a low of USD1.3600 .
In economic news from the US, data from the Commerce Department showed consumer spending to have declined by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in April. Meanwhile, personal income rose 0.3% in April as expected, rising for the fourth straight month. Economists expected spending to rise by 0.2% compared to the 0.9% increase originally reported for the previous month.
A report from MNI Indicators, showed Chicago -area business activity unexpectedly rose to a seven-month high in May, climbing to 65.5, from 63.0 in April. The increase surprised economists, who had expected the barometer to dip to 61.0.
Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan also released a report showing a slight upward revision to their reading on consumer sentiment in May. The final reading on the consumer sentiment index for May came in at 81.9, reflecting a modest upward revision from the mid-month reading of 81.8. Nonetheless, the index remained well below the final April reading of 84.1 and short of economist estimates of 82.5.
