Investing.com - Gold prices were higher on Friday, but gains were expected to remain limited as demand for the U.S. dollar remained broadly supported after mostly positive U.S. data and the Federal Reserve's most recent meeting minutes.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for December delivery traded at $1,194.50 a troy ounce during European morning trade, up 0.30%.
The December contract settled 0.25% lower on Thursday to end at $1,190.9 a troy ounce.
Futures were likely to find support at $1,173.90, the low from November 19 and resistance at $1,216.50, the high from October 30.
On Thursday, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said that its manufacturing index jumped to a 21-year high of 40.8 from 20.7 in October. Economists had expected the index to decline to 18.5.
Data also showed that U.S. sales of previously owned homes rose to a 13-month high in October.
In addition, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending November 15 decreased by 2,000 to 291,000 from the previous week's revised total of 293,000.
A separate report showed that U.S. consumer prices were flat last month, compared to estimates for a decline of 0.1% and following a gain of 0.1% in September.
Separately, demand for the dollar continued to be underpinned after the minutes of the Fed's latest meeting indicated that officials believe the economic recovery is strong enough to withstand external threats to growth.
While the minutes offered little additional clarity about when rates could start to rise, markets continued to bet that the U.S. central bank will start raising rates sometime around September 2015.
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.
Elsewhere in metals trading, Comex, silver for December delivery gained 0.94% to $16.288 a troy ounce, while December copper rose 0.30% to trade at $3.029 a pound.