Gold edged lower in Friday trading as the metal continued to find itself pressured by better U.S. economic news. Gold prices ended the week down 3.1% and remained below $1,300 an ounce.
The Commerce Department said on Friday that consumer spending rose a seasonally-adjusted 0.3% in February. The government noted that personal income also increased 0.3%. The consumer spending gain matched economists’ forecasts, while the rise in personal income exceeded estimates.
Gold futures for June delivery slipped 50 cents to $1,294.30 per ounce on Friday, according to . Gold prices were as high as $1,299.40 and as low as $1,286.10 Bullion closed in London at $1,295, according to .
Silver futures for May delivery climbed 0.4% to settle at $19.79 per ounce. Friday’s high for silver was $19.92, while the low was $19.62.
Metal funds were mixed Friday.
- The SPDR Gold Shares () was unchanged.
- The iShares Gold Trust () was flat.
- The iShares Silver Trust () rose 0.3%.
Mining ETFs advanced during the day.
- The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF () increased 1.2%.
- The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF () climbed 0.5%.
- The Global X Silver Miners ETF () gained 2%.
Gold stocks gained on Friday.
- Agnico-Eagle Mines () added 2%.
- Barrick Gold () rose 1.2%.
- Eldorado Gold () increased 0.7%.
- Goldcorp () moved up 0.8%.
- Kinross Gold () jumped 3.7%.
- Newmont Mining () surged 4.3%.
- NovaGold Resources () advanced 3.3%.
- Yamana Gold () rose 0.8%.
Silver mining shares mostly improved during the day.
- Coeur d’Alene Mines () added 3.3%.
- Hecla Mining () fell 0.6%.
- Pan American Silver () rose 0.6%.
- Silver Wheaton () increased 1.9%.
- Silver Standard Resources () moved up 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.
