Gold prices moved lower on Friday in choppy trading, held down by dollar strength and poised for a loss on the week after having been batted around by the government shutdown and debt-ceiling worries.
Gold futures for December delivery fell $6, or 0.5%, to $1,311.60 U.S. an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Thursday, gold closed down $3.10, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,317.60 U.S. an ounce. The contract is down about 2.1% for the week.
Analysts at Commerzbank said gold has largely pared losses seen midweek, given support from a weaker dollar and the budget dispute, though the dollar was moving higher again on Friday.
The U.S. government has been shut down for four days after Congress was unable to pass a budget bill. A glimmer of hope that the standoff may be resolved came from reports that House Speaker John Boehner is showing flexibility about working with Democrats on raising the debt ceiling.
The U.S. Treasury has said it doesn’t plan on tapping its gold stockpile, even to avoid a default.
Elsewhere in the metals complex, December copper rose three cents, or 1%, to $3.30 U.S. a pound, but was looking at a weekly loss of 0.8%. December silver fell 18 cents, or 0.8%, to $21.62 U.S. an ounce.
Palladium for December delivery rose $1.20, or 0.2%, to $701.40 U.S. an ounce, ready to mark a 4.1% loss for the week so far, and January platinum added $9.40, or 0.7%, to $1,382.70 U.S. an ounce, off 2.6% from last Friday.
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