Gold futures settled lower on Friday as the dollar rebounded strongly after recent weakness.
Equities steadied after China’s cabinet vowed to act decisively in ramping up support for the ailing economy.
Investors were also reacting to comments by U.S. President Joe Biden that a U.S. recession isn’t inevitable and that the country was “in a stronger position than any nation in the world to overcome inflation.”
The dollar index surged to 105.09 before paring some gains. It was hovering around 104.70 a little while ago, recording a gain of 1.02%.
Gold futures for August ended down by $9.30 or about 0.5% at $1,840.60 an ounce. Gold futures shed about 1.9% for the week.
Silver futures for July ended lower by $0.298 at $21.587 an ounce, while Copper futures for July settled at $4.0135 per pound, down $0.0945 from the previous close.
In U.S. economic news, the Federal Reserve released a report showing industrial production increased by less than expected in the month of May,
The Fed said industrial production crept up by 0.2% in May after surging by an upwardly revised 1.4% in April.
Economists had expected production to rise by 0.4% compared to the 1.1% jump originally reported for the previous month.
A separate report from the Conference Board showed a continued decrease by its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators in the month of May.
The report showed the Conference Board’s leading economic index fell by 0.4% in May, matching the revised drop seen in April as well as economist estimates.
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