Gold Ends Lower As Dollar Strengthens

New York (Feb 2)  Gold futures ended lower on Friday, after the dollar continued to strengthen against a basket of major currencies, making the precious metal less attractive to holders of foreign currencies. Nonetheless, losses were somewhat checked as investors tracked declining global equity markets that limited options.

Gold for the week declined 0.2 percent, but gained 3.1 percent for the month.

Global equity markets have been impacted by economic growth concerns in emerging markets led by China, further aggravated after the U.S. Federal Reserve slashed its monthly bond-buying program by an additional $10 billion earlier in the week. Investors fear the strong investment inflows into emerging markets will ebb after the U.S. Federal Reserve tightened its quantitative easing measures.