MW: Gold slides as dollar rebounds; other metals also lower
By Moming Zhou, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures traded lower to cap off what's been a bullish week as a stronger dollar reduced the investment appeal of the precious metal Friday.
Gold for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, lost 0.2% to $1,139.70 an ounce. The thinly traded November contract also sank 0.2% to stand at $1,139.60.
Both contracts are set to end the week higher by more than 2%.
In foreign-exchange trading, the U.S. dollar rose against most rival currencies, with the dollar index (DXY 75.65, +0.36, +0.47%) up 0.5% to 75.698.
Despite the gain, the dollar remained relatively weak in this week's trading. Gold had recorded a winning streak over the previous five sessions, with the December contract at one point topping $1,150 an ounce.
"It is 'get me out for the weekend' day," said George Gero, a precious-metals trader for RBC Capital Markets. "Traders concerned about weekend news or dollar moves are booksquaring."
Holdings in SPDR Gold Shares (GLD 111.65, -0.65, -0.58%) , the biggest gold exchange-traded fund, stood at 1,117.49 metric tons as of Thursday, unchanged from a day ago.
Meanwhile, holdings in the iShares Silver Trust (SLV 17.98, -0.28, -1.53%) , the biggest silver ETF, rose to a new record high above 9,000 metric tons.
Other metals also moved lower Friday. December silver sank 1.2% to $18.241 an ounce, while December palladium dropped 2.6% to $360.15 an ounce and January platinum fell 0.6% to $1,434.90 an ounce.
December copper edged 0.1% lower to $3.077 a pound.
Other commodities were also mostly lower, pressured by the stronger dollar. In energy, crude oil dropped 1.6%, falling below $77 a barrel. See Futures Movers for more on the action in energy.
