Gold futures edged higher on Friday, but were still set to post their biggest monthly loss since September.
Traders continued to monitor the direction of the dollar, mulled the timing of a U.S. Federal Reserve rate hike and digested the latest spate of U.S. economic data in their quest to gauge the metal’s appeal.
Gold for April delivery tacked on $4, or 0.3%, to $1,214.10 U.S.an ounce on Comex. Based on the most-active contracts, prices traded about 5.1% lower for the month. The monthly loss would come on the heels of January’s 8% rally, which was the largest monthly gain in three years.
For the week, prices were up 0.8%.
May silver traded at $16.585 an ounce, down four cents, or 0.2%. It was down around 3.7% for the month but up roughly 1.9% for the week.
Strength in the dollar has also been a drag for dollar-denominated gold prices of late, with the ICE U.S. dollar index climbing to its highest level since 2003 on Thursday.
Economic news didn’t appear to have much of an impact on gold trading Friday. The February reading of Chicago PMI tumbled to a five-and-a-half-year low, while the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment saw an upward bump to its final reading for February. Gross domestic product expanded by a 2.2% annual clip in the final three months of 2014.
Also on Comex, April platinum rose $11.20, or 1% to $1,184.80 U.S. an ounce, down 4.3% for the month, while June palladium added $2.40, or 0.3%, to $813.45 U.S. an ounce, over 5% higher for the month. May copper fell 2.4 cents, or 0.9%, to $2.671 U.S. a pound, poised for a monthly gain of around 7%.
