WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold futures settled lower on Friday, but still posted their severnth consecutive weekly gain, as the commodity has gained some ground earlier in the week on safe-haven buying.
The dollar index dropped to 106.57 an ounce, and despite recovering to 106.70,
Gold futures for February closed down $42.30 or about 1.45% at $2,883.60 an ounce. Gold futures gained a modest 0.57% in the week.
Silver futures for February ended higher by $0.151 or about 0.46% at $32.801 an oune. Silver futures gained higher nearly 1.5% in the week.
Dollar eased amid growing optimism about a Russia-Ukraine peace deal and a delay in possible reciprocal U.S. tariffs.
U.S. President Donald Trump has signed a Presidential memo on reciprocal tariffs for more balanced trade, with Howard Lutnick, Trump's Commerce Secretary nominee, saying he anticipates the investigation will be complete by April 1.
In U.S. economic news, data from the Commerce Department said retail sales slid by 0.9% in January after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.7% in December.
Economists had expected retail sales to edge down by 0.1% compared to the 0.4% increase originally reported for the previous month. However, economists noted the sharp decline was largely due to extreme winter conditions and the California wildfires.
A separate report from the Federal Reserve showed industrial production rose by more than expected in January, although the increase was largely due to a weather-related surge by utilities output.
The Fed said industrial production climbed by 0.5% in January after jumping by an upwardly revised 1% in December.
Economists had expected industrial production to rise by 0.3% compared to the 0.9% advance originally reported for the previous month.
Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2025 AFX News
