(RTTNews) - Gold closed lower for a seventh consecutive session as traders continued to exchange the commodity for cash. Gold for December delivery ended at $787.70, down $16.80 for the session. The metal hit a monthly intraday low of $772.00 in mid-day trading. The metal dropped $71.30 this week and has lost nearly $150 from the 10-week high it saw last week. Gold is down more than $200 from its record high of $1,033.90 from March. The dollar barely budged versus the other major currencies on Friday as traders took in another round of disappointing economic data. This key the dollar near long-term highs against the euro and the sterling. Gold usually moves opposite the greenback because of the precious metal's hedge value. On the economic front, the Commerce Department said that housing starts fell 6.3 percent to an annual rate of 817,000 in September from the revised August rate of 872,000. Economists had expected starts to fall to 870,000 from the 895,000 originally reported for the previous month. The report also showed that building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, fell 8.3 percent to an annual rate of 786,000 in September from the revised August rate of 857,000. Separately, Reuters and the University of Michigan released the preliminary results of their survey of consumers for the month of October, showing that the consumer sentiment index fell to 57.5 in October from a reading of 70.3 in September. With the decrease, which marked the biggest monthly drop on record, the consumer sentiment index fell to its lowest level since June. Gold fell to a monthly low on Thursday. December gold moved to $804.50, down $34.50 for the session. The drop took gold below a support level near $822. For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com

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