Investing.com - Gold prices dropped in European morning hours on Friday, pulling away from a one-month peak after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen signaled the possibility for a rate hike before the year-end, sending the dollar broadly higher.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery were down 0.72% at $1,145.50.
The December contract ended Thursday's session 1.97% higher at $1,153.80 an ounce.
Futures were likely to find support at $1,133.00, Thursday's low and resistance at $1,155.90, Thursday's high.
In a speech late Thursday, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said she expected the central bank to begin raising rates later in 2015, as long as inflation remained stable and the U.S. economy was strong enough to boost employment.
Gold had been pressured lower in recent months by uncertainty over when the Fed would hike interest rates from record-lows.
Expectations of higher borrowing rates going forward is considered bearish for gold, as the precious metal struggles to compete with yield-bearing assets when rates are on the rise.
The comments came after a string of U.S. data painted a mixed picture of the health of the economy.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits increased by 3,000 to 267,000 last week, compared to expectations for a 7,000 rise.
Separately, the U.S. Commerce Department said that durable goods orders decreased by 2.0% last month, matching forecasts, while core durable goods orders, which exclude volatile transportation items, were flat, compared to expectations for an increase of 0.1%.
Data also showed that U.S. new home sales increased by 5.9% to 552.000 units in August, beating expectations for a 1.6% rise.
Elsewhere in metals trading, silver futures for December delivery slid 0.46% to $15.060 a troy ounce, while copper futures for December delivery was steady at $2.303 a pound.