Gold Ends Higher, Gains 2.9% For Week

(RTTNews) - Gold futures pared losses to end higher on Thursday, with the dollar weakening against some select currencies after some data out of the U.S. showed consumer sentiment in the country deteriorated more than previously estimated.

Gold also found support with some downbeat macroeconomic data during the week strengthening the view that the Federal Reserve would continue its monthly bond-buying program unchanged in the near foreseeable future.

For the week, gold futures gained 2.9 percent.

In economic news, consumer sentiment in the U.S. dropped more than previously estimated in October, while wholesale inventories increased slightly more than expected in August. With orders for transportation equipment showing a significant increase, a Commerce Department release on Friday showed orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods rose much more than expected in September.

Gold for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, gained $2.20 or 0.2 percent to close at $1,352.50 an ounce Friday on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold for December delivery scaled an intraday high of $1,356.40 and a low of $1,335.30 an ounce.

Yesterday, gold ended sharply higher as the dollar trended lower after some soft initial jobless benefit claims data out of the U.S. and some upbeat manufacturing data out of China.

Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, moved down to 876.52 tons from 878.32 tons.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 79.20 on Friday, down from 79.21 late Thursday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 79.32 intraday and a low of 79.00.

The euro traded higher against the dollar at $1.3803 on Friday, as compared to its previous close of $1.3801 late Thursday in North America. The euro scaled a high of $1.3831 intraday and a low of $1.3776.

In economic news from the U.S., the Commerce Department said durable goods orders jumped 3.7 percent in September after inching up by a revised 0.2 percent in August. Economists had expected orders to increase by about 2.5 percent compared to the 0.1 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month. However, excluding the surge in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders edged down by 0.1 percent in September compared to a 0.4 percent drop in August.

Separately, the U.S. Commerce Department said wholesale inventories increased slightly more than expected in August. Wholesales inventories rose by 0.5 percent in August following an upwardly revised 0.2 percent increase in July. Economists expected wholesale inventories to increase by 0.4 percent compared to the 0.1 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, consumer sentiment in the U.S. deteriorated more than previously estimated in October, a report from Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan showed Friday. The consumer sentiment index for October was downwardly revised to 73.2 from a preliminary reading of 75.2. With the downward revision, the index is well below September's final reading of 77.5 and at its lowest level since December of 2012.

From the eurozone, German business sentiment unexpectedly weakened in October, reports citing survey results from the Ifo Institute said. The business climate indicator dropped to 107.4 in October from 107.7 in September while economists had forecast an increase to 108.

Elsewhere, the U.K. economy expanded at the fastest rate since the second quarter of 2010, preliminary data from the Office for National Statistics showed. Gross domestic product grew 0.8 percent sequentially in the third quarter, slightly faster than the 0.7 percent expansion logged in the preceding three months. The rate matched economists' expectations.