MW: Gold’s 4th-straight drop leaves metal headed toward 2% weekly loss
Gold futures dropped Friday for a fourth day in a row, heading for a roughly 2% weekly loss, as strength in the dollar and all-time highs in major U.S. stock indexes this week dulled investor demand for so-called haven investments.
Gold for February delivery GCG7, -0.72% fell $6.70, or 0.6%, to $1,182.70 an ounce. Gold has posted declines each day since ending Monday at $1,215.60—its highest settlement since Nov. 17. March silver SIH7, -0.89% fell 13 cents, or 0.8%, at $16.73 an ounce Friday. It was headed for a roughly 2.2% weekly loss.
“Gold found itself exposed to painful losses this week after the renewed investor risk appetite from the [President Donald] Trump effect and dollar’s resurgence encouraged sellers to attack the metal incessantly,” said Lukman Otunuga, research analyst with FXTM.
“The yellow metal currently trades around a fresh two-week low ... and is at risk of trading lower if the U.S. Q4 GDP exceeds expectations,” Otunuga said. “The downside momentum is strong and a breakdown below $1180 could spark a further selloff towards $1160.”
In the report due for release at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, gross domestic product, the sum of the economy’s performance, is forecast to taper off to 2.2% in the final quarter of 2016, a MarketWatch survey shows. The economy expanded at a 3.5% pace in the late summer and early fall.
Read: Fourth-quarter GDP: Here’s what will sizzle and fizzle
The dollar advanced moderately against most rival s. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, +0.19% was up 0.1% at 100.65.
Among the exchange-traded funds, the SPDR Gold Trust GLD, -0.51% was down 0.9% premarket, while the iShares Silver Trust SLV, -1.06% declined 0.4%. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF GDX, -0.66% fell 0.5%.
