Gold futures climb to highest close in a month
SAN FRANCISCO (July 19) Gold futures climbed Friday to score a gain of more than 1% for the week and finish the session at their highest level in a month.
Prices drew support from weakness in the U.S. dollar and equities and concerns in the wake of Detroit’s bankruptcy filing as investors continued to digest comments this week from the Federal Reserve’s chairman.
Gold adds to its gains on the back of a slightly weaker dollar.
Gold for August delivery gained $8.70, or 0.7%, to settle at $1,292.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
That was the highest settlement for a most-active contract since June 19, according to FactSet data.
Prices, which rose $6.70 on Thursday, finished the week 1.2% higher.
Gold’s advance came as the U.S. dollar pulled back from Thursday’s gains, with the ICE dollar index sitting at 82.606 Friday, down from 82.783 late the previous day.
Since gold futures, like those of many commodities, are usually denominated in dollars, a fall in the U.S. unit makes gold less expensive to holders of other currencies, encouraging buying.
