WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Despite a subdued dollar, gold prices drifted lower on Friday, falling for a second straight day on profit taking after four successive days of gains.
Gold's downside was limited thanks to continued optimism about an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve next week.
The U.S. central bank is expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points on Dec. 18, but there is much uncertainty regarding outlook for 2025 due to stubborn inflation.
The dollar index, which dropped to 106.72 in early New York session after having stayed higher in the Asian session and much of the European session, recovered to 106.99 later on, gaining marginally over previous close.
Gold futures for December closed down $31.50 or 1.17% at $2,656.00 an ounce. Gold futures gained about 0.66% in the week, after posting losses in the previous two weeks.
Silver futures for December ended lower by $0.573 or 1.83% at $30.655 an ounce. For the week, silver futures lost 1.7%.
Copper futures for December dropped to $4.1505 per pound, losing $0.0445 or 1.06%.
Import prices in the U.S. unexpectedly edged higher in the month of November, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Friday.
The Labor Department said import prices crept up by 0.1 percent in November, matching the downwardly revised uptick in October.
Economists had expected import prices to dip by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.3 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, the report said export prices were unchanged in November after jumping by an upwardly revised 1.0 percent in October.
Export prices were expected to slip by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.8 percent advance originally reported for the previous month.
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