Gold prices dipped on Friday, easing back from the all-time high hit in the previous session, while oil prices also softened and base metals weakened after strong gains on Thursday.
Gold traded at $1,048 a troy ounce after hitting a record $1,061.20 in the previous session when the dollar’s trade weighted index sank to a 14 month low, forcing Asian central banks to intervene in foreign exchange markets to stem the appreciation of their currencies.
The dollar found support overnight from comments from Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, who gave the first hint that US policymakers were considering how they would normalise monetary policy once economic recovery was established.
Mr Bernanke said: “At some point, however, as economic recovery takes hold, we will need to tighten monetary policy to prevent the emergence of an inflation problem down the road.”
After rising by more than $2 a barrel in the previous session, crude oil prices weakened on Friday with Nymex November West Texas Intermediate down 44 cents to $71.25 a barrel while ICE November Brent lost 39 cents at $69.40 per barrel.
Base metals dipped with aluminium down 0.5 per cent to $1,900 a tonne while copper lost 0.9 per cent at $6,280 a tonne.
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