Investing.com -- Gold futures fell mildly on Friday halting a five-day winning streak, as investors locked into profits one session after the precious metal soared to fresh three-month highs.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for December delivery traded in a tight range between $1,175.30 and $1,184.30 an ounce before settling at $1,182.00, down $5.50 or 0.46% on the day. Previously, gold had closed higher in each of the prior five sessions and nine of the last 10. On Thursday, gold surged above $1,190.00 an ounce to reach its highest level since late-June. For the week, gold gained approximately 2% in value.
Gold likely gained support at $1,154.90, the low from October 13 and was met with resistance at $1,204.00, the high from June 1.
The dollar remained relatively steady on Friday, following the release of mixed data in the U.S. The University of Michigan's Consumer Survey Center reported strong results from its semi-monthly index on Friday, confirming robust weekly figures on consumer sentiment earlier in the month. The university's Consumer Sentiment Index surged more than five points to 92.1 for October, falling in the high end of a consensus range between 87.5 and 93.0. Last week, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta president Dennis Lockhart indicated that he will be watching consumer sentiment closely as he weighs whether the U.S. central bank should raise short-term rates before the end of the year.
Separately, the Fed reported that its monthly index for industrial production fell by 0.2% in September, slightly above expectations of a 0.3% decline. It follows a disappointing month in August when industrial production slumped by 0.4%. Last month, the capacity utilization rate fell 0.3% to 77.5% from an upwardly revised level of 77.8%.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, gained more than 0.3% to an intraday high of 94.75. Earlier in the week, the index dipped below 94 to fall to a fresh monthly low, significantly below its intraday high of 96.64 on Oct. 1. Dollar-denominated commodities such as gold become more expensive for foreign purchasers when the dollar appreciates.
Elsewhere, the Consumer Price Index in the euro zone fell 0.1% on an annual basis in September, in line with flash estimates. Core CPI, which strips out volatile items such as energy, food and tobacco prices, remained 0.9% above its level from 12 months ago, unchanged from August.
Investors continued to digest the release of soft U.S. inflation data on Thursday, when the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said consumer prices fell by 0.2% in September, following a 0.1% decline a month earlier. The Fed would like to see inflationary pressures firm considerably before it raises short-term interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade.
An interest rate hike is viewed as bearish for gold, which struggles to compete with high-yield bearing assets in rising rate environments.
Silver for December delivery lost 0.079 or 0.49% to 16.085 an ounce.
Copper for December delivery fell 0.019 or 0.77% to close at 2.404 a pound.