Gold prices continued a march lower on Friday, with the precious metal facing a seventh straight loss and a weekly decline of nearly 5%, as the dollar got another boost on more talk about a wind-down of the Federal Reserve’s bond-buying program.
Gold for June delivery fell $13.30, or nearly 1%, to $1,373.60 U.S. an ounce.
The precious metal is down 4.4% this week so far, dropping below the key $1,400-U.S.-an-ounce level earlier in the week as continued gains for equities and the U.S. dollar have curbed its attraction for investors.
Amid a clutch of data Thursday, news of a deeper-than-forecast drop in consumer prices for April also cut into gold’s traditional appeal as a hedge against inflation.
The ICE dollar index, which measures the greenback’s movement against six other major currencies, was pushing higher again on Friday, rising to 83.953 from 83.606 a day prior. Recent strength in the greenback has been contributing to losses in dollar-denominated commodities.
Constant sales of gold-backed exchange traded funds have also undermined gold. Shares in the SPDR Gold Trust are down 4% on the week, nearly 14% on the quarter to date. Billionaire investor George Soros cut his gold holdings in the first quarter.
Also trading lower, July silver fell 14 cents, or 0.6%, to $22.51 U.S. an ounce. It is down 4.8% on the week.
July copper tacked on two cents, or 0.6%, to $3.3155 U.S. a pound, facing a loss of just over 1% for the week.
June palladium fell nearly $5, or 0.7%, to $735.80 U.S. an ounce and July platinum futures lost $10.50, or 0.7%, to $1,475.10 U.S. an ounce.
