Gold fell back in Friday trading as two reports suggested a stronger U.S. economy. The metal ended February with a gain of 6.6%.
The University of Michigan/Thomson Reuters index of consumer sentiment rose from a reading of 81.2 in January, to a reading of 81.6 in February. Additionally, the Chicago Business Barometer climbed to a reading of 59.8 in February, up slightly from 59.6 last month. That surprised economists who had expected a reading of 56.
Gold futures for April delivery dropped 0.8% to $1,321.60 per ounce on Friday, according to . Gold traded as high as $1,333.60 and as low as $1,319.30. Bullion closed in London at $1,328, according to .
Silver futures for May delivery also fell 0.5% to $21.24 per ounce. Friday’s high for silver was $21.43, while the low was $21.11.
Metal funds moved lower on Friday.
- The SPDR Gold Shares () slipped 0.5%.
- The iShares Gold Trust () fell 0.4%.
- The iShares Silver Trust () dipped 0.5%.
Mining ETFs were mixed during the day.
- The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF () slid 0.4%.
- The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF () added 0.4%.
- The Global X Silver Miners ETF () edged down 0.2%.
Gold stocks mostly retreated on Friday.
- Agnico-Eagle Mines () fell 2.1%.
- Barrick Gold () slid 1.6%.
- Eldorado Gold () slipped 0.6%.
- Goldcorp () moved down 0.5%.
- Kinross Gold () climbed 1%.
- Newmont Mining () dropped 1.4%.
- NovaGold Resources () gained 2.8%.
- Yamana Gold () faded 1.1%.
Silver mining shares were mixed during the day.
- Coeur d’Alene Mines () rose 1.8%.
- Hecla Mining () slipped 0.6%.
- Pan American Silver () sank 0.7%.
- Silver Wheaton () inched up 0.1%.
- Silver Standard Resources () fell 1.4%.
As of this writing, Christopher Freeburn did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Adrian Ash of contributed to this report.
