Gold prices posted mild losses on Friday, backing away from a week-high settlement a day prior, and seeing little benefit from dollar weakness as investors readied for the long U.S. holiday weekend.
Gold for August delivery fell $3.30, or 0.3%, to $1,389.50 U.S. an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. August gold tacked on $24.40, or 1.8%, to end at $1,392.80 U.S. an ounce on Thursday — its highest settlement since May 15.
U.S. stocks opened lower in the midst of more turbulence for Japanese stocks and as U.S. investors took to the sidelines ahead of Memorial Day weekend. Fresh data showed some lift among American manufacturers as durable-goods orders rose 3.3% in April against expectations for a rise of 1.4%.
Much of that gain was attributed to higher demand for autos, airplanes and military wares, but demand was still broadly based.
The dollar also remained weaker, though that didn't appear to be a big help for gold. Commodities priced in dollars, including gold, tend to trade inversely with the dollar, as moves in the U.S. unit can influence the attractiveness of metals to holders of other currencies.
The ICE dollar index, a gauge of the greenback’s movement against six other major currencies, exchanged hands at 83.683 compared with Thursday’s level of around 83.72.
Among other metals contracts, copper fell two cents, or 0.5%, to $3.29 a pound. July silver fell eight cents, or 0.4%, to $22.42 U.S. an ounce.
June palladium futures fell $5.15, or 0.7%, to $732 U.S. an ounce, while platinum rose $1.60 to $1,458.80 U.S. an ounce.
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