Investing.com - Gold futures continued to trade near session highs on Friday, buoyed by a slump in the dollar, as optimism concerning ‘Trumpflation’ fades while the latest batch of U.S. economic data had a limited impact on upside momentum in the yellow-metal.
Gold for April delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained $6.55 or about 0.52%, to trade at $1,257.95 a troy ounce by 13:08 ET.
Gold futures capitalized on continued pressure in the U.S. dollar with the yellow-metal hitting its highest point in 3-1/2 months in the intraday session, after the release of mixed U.S. economic data.
The Commerce Department said new home sales rose 3.7 percent to a seasonally-adjusted 555,000 units but missed analysts’ estimates of a 6.3% rise in January.
U.S. consumer sentiment remained upbeat, after The University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index hit 96.3 in February, compared to expectations of 96.3.
The rally in gold futures comes as Fed minutes released on Wednesday, highlighted a reluctance among some Fed members’ to support a raise in interest rates while uncertainty over the impact of Trump’s economic policies on economic growth remained.
Elsewhere, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday, that President Trump’s pro-growth politics, which are viewed as inflationary and a boon for dollar, will have a limited impact in 2017.
Commodities across the board traded higher, as silver gained 1.25% to trade at $18.35 while copper climbed 1.2% to trade at $2.68.