Gold Ends Lower On Profit Taking; But Gains 2.2% For Week

(RTTNews) - Gold futures ended lower Friday on profit taking, as investors await fresh catalysts with some crucial financial policy meets coming up next week, notwithstanding a weak dollar. The uncertainty surrounding the U.S. Federal Reserve's move on tapering down its accommodative monetary stimulus program also weighed on gold prices.

Gold for August delivery, the most actively traded contract, gained $7.30 or 0.6 percent to close at $1,321.50 an ounce Friday on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold for August delivery scaled an intraday high of $1,340.50 and a low of $1,311.90 an ounce.

Yesterday, gold settled higher as the dollar drifted lower against a few major currencies after some soft weekly initial claims data for U.S. unemployment benefits, with investors pondering over the Federal Reserve's move on its quantitative easing program exit.

Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, moved down to 927.35 tons from 929.76 tons.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 81.61 on Friday, down from 81.77 late Thursday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 81.83 intraday and a low of 81.55.

The euro traded lower against the dollar at $1.3285 on Friday, as compared to $1.3277 late Thursday in North America. The euro scaled a high of $1.3300 intraday and a low of $1.3254.

In economic news from the U.S., a Thomson Reuters and University of Michigan report upwardly revised the consumer sentiment index for July to 85.1 from the preliminary reading of 83.9. Economists expected the index to be upwardly revised to 84.0. The index is now above the final June reading of 84.1 and at its highest level since July 2007.

Elsewhere, Germany's import prices declined for a sixth consecutive month in June, data from the Federal Statistical Office showed. Import prices declined 2.2 percent year-on-year in June, after a 2.9 percent fall in May. The pace of decline, however, was the slowest in four months.

French consumer confidence improved to 82 in July from a revised reading of 79 a month ago, data from the statistical office Insee showed. Economists expected the index to rise to 79 from June's initially estimated record low level 78.

Eurozone's leading economic index increased for the third successive month in June, lifting hopes that the recession-stricken economy would recover in the second half, a Conference Board survey showed. The leading economic index moved up 0.5 percent on a monthly basis to 107.5 in June, marking the third successive growth. In May and April, the index rose by 0.4 percent and 0.1 percent respectively.