MW: Gold, silver slightly higher as dollar falls, stocks gain
Precious metals on track for the longest weekly losing streak in two months
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold and silver futures rose slightly Friday as the dollar fell against most of its major rivals, raising the precious metals' investment appeal.
Their fractional gains notwithstanding, the two metals tracked toward their third weekly decline, which would be the longest losing streak in two months.
In early North American trading, August gold rose $2.50, or 0.3%, to $937.10 an ounce, and July silver climbed 7 cents, or 0.5%, to $14.31 an ounce.
Gold "is likely to find further scaled-down support as investor dip-buying continues," said James Moore, a precious metals analyst at TheBullionDesk.com.
Butfor the short term, "gold may look to spend some time consolidating as traders assess developments in the global economies," Moore added, noting that the financial markets as a whole are "lacking clear direction."
In exchange-traded funds action, holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD 91.92, +0.31, +0.34%) , the biggest ETF backed by gold, stood at 1,132.15 metric tons as of Thursday, unchanged for a 10th session, according to the latest data from the fund.
Holdings in the iShare Silver Trust (SLV 14.08, +0.11, +0.79%) , the largest silver ETF, stood at 8,724.86 metric tons Thursday.
In currencies, the dollar lost ground as gaining global equity markets pointed to a rise in investors' risk appetite. The greenback has tended to lose ground as investors shift away from perceived safe-haven assets.
Asian equities closed higher Friday, following on from Thursday's U.S. equity gains. U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher opening for Wall Street. Read Indications.
The firm tone in equity markets helped set a positive backdrop for the euro, with the single currency trading at $1.3929, up 0.2%. The dollar index (DXY 80.43, -0.18, -0.23%) fell to 80.421. See Currencies.
In other metals, July platinum rose $10.50, or 0.9%, to $1,218.10 an ounce, while September palladium rose $3.80, or 1.6%, to $243.50 an ounce.
The July copper contract rose 1.8 cents, or 0.8%, to stand at $2.2910 a pound.
London inventories fell to 281,600 metric tons as of Thursday, down 1,575 metric tons from the previous session, exchange data on copper showed.
