Gold Continues To Drop, Loses More Than $45 For Week

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Gold continued to fall on Friday as the rising U.S. dollar reduced its hedge appeal.

December gold fell to $1,115.30 per ounce, down $10.40 on the session. Prices fell as low as $1,110.80 earlier in the day.

The metal lost $46.50 on the week, falling in four of five sessions. Gold is more than $100 off the record $1,218 reached last week.

The dollar surged to a two-month high against the euro and also saw strength against the yen, pound and others. Gold usually moves opposite the dollar.

A Commerce Department report showed that retail sales jumped by 1.3 percent in November following a revised 1.1 percent increase in October. Economists had been expecting sales to increase by a more modest 0.6 percent compared to the 1.4 percent growth originally reported for the previous month.

At the same time, the U.S. Labor Department revealed that import prices rose 1.7 percent in November. This followed a 0.8 percent increase in October and a 0.2 percent advance in September. Export prices advanced 0.8 percent in November.

Reuters and the University of Michigan said the consumer sentiment index jumped to 73.4 in December from a final reading of 67.4 in November. Economists had been expecting a much more modest increase by the index to a reading of 68.8.

And a Commerce Department report showed business inventories edged up by 0.2 percent in October following a revised 0.5 percent decrease in September. The increase surprised economists, who had expected inventories to slip by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.4 percent drop originally reported for the previous month.

There is no major economic news on the agenda for Monday, leaving traders to look ahead to a busy remainder of the week. The Federal Open Market Committee meeting begins on Tuesday and concludes with an interest rate decision on Wednesday.

(Market News Provided by RTTNews)