LONDON (MarketWatch) — Gold prices fell in the first trading day of 2015, leaving the precious metal on track to post a weekly loss.
Gold for February delivery GCG5, -0.19% turned lower by $2.30, or 0.2%, to $1,181.60 an ounce on Friday, with volume still thin at the end of the holiday season.
Gold prices had earlier been modestly higher, finding some safe-haven support as European equities sagged. But that move was undercut by a rise in the U.S. dollar DXY, +0.50% against major rivals, including the euro EURUSD, -0.41% as European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi signaled the bank is moving closer to launching full-scale quantitative easing.
A stronger dollar tends to weigh on dollar-denominated assets.
Gold futures were looking at a weekly loss of 0.2%, which would mark the third consecutive weekly decline for the yellow metal. The last run of three-straight weekly declines took place in late October through early September.
Gold futures finished 2014 with a 1.5% loss.
Elsewhere in the metals complex, silver for March delivery SIH5, +0.71% rose 12 cents, or 0.7%, to $15.71 an ounce. Platinum for April delivery PLJ5, -0.21% fell $2.50, or 0.2%, to $1,207 an ounce.
Palladium for March delivery PAH5, -0.41% declined $3.30, or 0.4%, to $795.10 an ounce. High-grade copper for March delivery HGH5, -0.09% was unchanged at $2.825 a pound.
