MW: Gold futures edge lower after five-session win
Winning streak assures weekly gain
By Myra P. Saefong, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Gold futures edged lower Friday, pulling back after logging five-straight winning sessions as a gauge of consumer sentiment came in better than expected.
Gold for December delivery GC1Z -0.24% shed $5.10, or 0.3%, to trade at $1,742.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Prices are trading more than 6% higher for the week. On Thursday, they saw their best settlement in five weeks.
“From a technical point of view, the market is overbought and could see renewed selling next week,” said Darin Newsom, a senior analyst at Telvent DTN.
“Fundamentally, pressure could come from continued economic reports coming in better than expected,” he said.
A gauge of consumer sentiment rose to 60.9 in the final reading for October, compared with a preliminary reading of 57.5, according to Friday reports on the data from Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a slight gain to 58.
Also Friday, government data showed U.S. consumers saved less and spent more in September. Personal income rose 0.1%, and consumer spending jumped 0.6%, the Commerce Department said
“Still, plenty of concerns over global and domestic economies to keep the [gold] market supported,” said Newsom.
On Friday, gold tracked a modest decline in U.S. stocks, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA -.00% losing 0.2%.
Europe’s latest effort to contain the euro zone’s two-year-old debt crisis had won applause from financial markets Thursday. Read about concerns surrounding the latest bailout plan.
Other metals traded mostly lower Friday, but were still set to post gains on the week.
Silver for December delivery SI1Z -0.46% fell by 11 cents, or 0.3%, to $35 an ounce. It has traded around 2% higher for the week. Copper for the same month’s delivery HG1Z -0.33% traded down 2 cents, or 0.5%, at $3.67 a pound, poised for a gain of nearly 4% on the week.
December palladium PA1Z -0.90% fell $7.40, or 1.1%, to $662.50 an ounce while January platinum PL2F +0.13% added $1.30, or 0.1%, to $1,642.70 an ounce. Both were trading more than 7% higher for the week.
Myra Saefong is a MarketWatch reporter based in San Francisco.
