WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold futures settled marginally down on Friday due largely to profit taking, but still posted a strong weekly gain, with the commodity's safe-haven appeal pushing up prices.
Gold prices were also weighed down by a stronger dollar. U.S. President Donald Trump's persistent tariff threats pushed up the dollar's value.
The dollar index climbed to 106.75 in early New York session, and despite dropping to 106.50 a bit later, recovered to 106.65, gaining nearly 0.3%.
Gold futures for February closed down $2.40 or about 0.08% at $2,937.60 an ounce. Gold futures gained 1.87% in the week, extending gains for the eighth consecutive week.
Silver futures for February settled lower by $0.468 or about 1.4% at $32.976 an ounce. Silver futures gained 0.53% in the week, recording a gain for a fifth straight week.
Copper futures for February dropped to $4.5755 per pound, down $0.0325 or 0.71%.
A report from the National Association of Realtors showed existing home sales pulled back sharply in the month of January.
NAR said existing home sales plunged by 4.9% to an annual rate of 4.08 million in January after surging by 2.9% to an upwardly revised rate of 4.29 million in December. Economists had expected existing home sales to tumble by 2.8% to an annual rate of 4.12 million from the 4.24 million originally reported for the previous month.
A report released by the University of Michigan showed consumer sentiment in the U.S. deteriorated by much more than previously estimated in the month of February.
The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index for February was downwardly revised to 64.7 from a preliminary reading of 67.8. Economists had expected the index to be unrevised. The index is well below the January reading of 71.7, tumbling to its lowest level since hitting 61.3 in November 2023.
Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2025 AFX News
