Gold futures slipped on Friday, but some assurance from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke kept the precious metal on track for its first weekly advance in four.
Gold for August delivery shed $3.10, or 0.2%, to trade at $1,276.80 U.S. an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the week, prices traded more than 5% higher.
Prices briefly turned a bit higher Friday following an unexpected decline in consumer sentiment. The preliminary July reading of the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters consumer-sentiment index reportedly declined to 83.9 from a final June reading of 84.1. Economists polled by MarketWatch expected the reading to be unchanged.
Gold prices on Thursday jumped $32.50, or 2.6%, marking their fourth-straight win, the longest winning streak since mid-March.
The week’s gain for gold came as the U.S. dollar dropped sharply Thursday following indications by Bernanke that the Fed isn’t in a hurry to raise interest rates, even after unemployment reaches the Fed’s target of 6.5%.
A weaker dollar helps dollar-denominated commodities by making them less expensive to buy for holders of other currencies. At the same time, quantitative easing by the Fed and other central banks had underpinned a long-running rally in gold prices, analysts have said.
Gold futures have tumbled around 24% this year on worries the Fed will start winding down its bond-buying program and on continued gold sales from exchange-traded funds.
Total gold in trust for the SPDR Gold Trust remained unchanged Thursday, compared with Wednesday. Shares of the ETF fell 0.5% in morning trading.
Metals mining firms also declined, with the Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index trading 1.5% lower.
This week, Bloomberg reported that hedge-fund manager John Paulson’s PFR Gold Fund had lost 65% year-to-date. But the correction for gold may be close to ending, Deutsche Bank said this week.
On Comex Friday, September silver gave up 16 cents, or 0.8%, to $19.80 U.S. an ounce after a 4.1% jump on Thursday. The contract was poised to score a gain of 5.6% for the week.
September copper slipped two cents, or 0.8%, to $3.15 U.S. a pound, trading up 2.9% for the week.
Platinum for October delivery was up 30 cents at $1,407.90 U.S. an ounce, and September palladium gained $3, or 0.4%, to $721.20 U.S. an ounce. Both contracts traded over 6% higher for the week.
