Investing.com - Gold futures ended close to their lowest levels of the year on Friday, as the U.S. dollar notched up its eleventh consecutive week of gains, hitting investor demand for the precious metal.
Gold for December delivery was down 0.25% to $1,218.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange late Friday.
Gold futures fell to session lows of $1,206.7 on Thursday, a level not seen since January 2, before recovering, as a selloff in U.S. equities bolstered safe haven demand.
For the week, Comex gold prices tacked on 0.17%, snapping a three week losing streak.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies ended Friday’s session up 0.51% to a four year high of 85.77.
A stronger U.S. dollar usually weighs on gold, as it dampens the metal's appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar-priced commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.
The dollar was boosted after the Commerce Department reported that U.S. gross domestic product was revised up to 4.6% in the three months to June from a previous estimate of 4.2%. It was the fastest rate of expansion since the fourth quarter of 2011.
The upbeat data added to the view that the strengthening economic recovery may prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates sooner than markets are expecting.
Expectations for higher interest rates going forward are considered bearish for gold, as the precious metal struggles to compete with yield-bearing assets when rates are on the rise.
Investors will be looking ahead to Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for further indications on the strength of the economic recovery, after August’s report fell short of expectations
Data from the Commodities Futures Trading Commission released Friday showed that hedge funds and money managers decreased their bullish bets in gold futures for the sixth straight week last week.
Net longs totaled 63,884 contracts in the week ending September 23, down from net longs of 72,187 in the preceding week.
Also on the Comex, silver for December delivery rose 1.07% to $17.625 an ounce on Friday, paring the week’s losses to 0.83%. Silver prices hit lows of $17.27 an ounce on Thursday, their weakest since June 2010.
Comex copper for December delivery eased up 0.27% to end at $3.038 a pound.
Elsewhere in metals trading, NYMEX platinum futures for October delivery dropped 1.01% to $1,300.9 an ounce on Friday, the lowest level since October 2009.
December NYMEX palladium tumbled 2.67% to end at a five month low of $781.3 an ounce.
Platinum and palladium are major components in automobile exhaust systems.