Gold skids 0.2%, oil tacks on 0.1%

NEW YORK (Oct 18)  Gold futures settled with a loss, pulling back after a big advance the previous day but tallying a weekly gain of nearly 4 percent.

Traders gauged the impact of the U.S. government’s 16-day shutdown on the economy and weighed the prospects for the timing of a reduction in the Federal Reserve’s bond-buying program as at least one analyst said prices for gold may have reached a short-term bottom.

Gold for December delivery decreased 0.6 percent to finish at $1,314.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In other metals, December silver slid 0.2 percent to finish at $21.91 an ounce, but after climbing 2.7 percent yesterday, it tallied a gain of 3.1 percent for the week.

Platinum for January delivery rose 0.2 percent to $1,437.80 an ounce for gain of 4.5 percent for the week.

December palladium added 0.4 percent to $740.65 an ounce — 3.8 percent higher than a week ago.

High-grade copper for December delivery was little changed at $3.30 per pound for a 0.9 percent rally on the week.

In the energy markets, oil futures settled slightly higher but dropped 1.2 percent for the week, their fifth weekly loss in six weeks.

Traders weighed the economic impact of the government shutdown and gauged data from China which showed growth in the third quarter from a year earlier, but also hinted that a slowdown was under way.

November crude rose 0.1 percent to close at $100.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices had settled at a more than three-month low yesterday.

Third-quarter growth in China, the world's second-largest oil user, was 7.8 percent from a year ago, its fastest pace for the year, thanks largely to investment.