By Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch
MADRID (MarketWatch)—Gold futures fell back in electronic trading Friday, losing a grip on the key $1,660 an ounce level as the dollar pushed higher, and as the broader metals complex also declined.
Gold for April delivery GCJ2 -1.00% fell $15, or 0.9%, to $1,645.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange during European trading hours. Gold had traded higher during Asian trading hours.
The metal closed the North American session 1% higher, driven by a combination of bargain-hunting and a weak U.S. dollar. Thursday's gold session
Gold is on track to post a weekly loss of 3.7% with dampened expectations of more monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve and a stronger U.S. dollar key factors pressuring prices.
The dollar rose ahead of U.S. inflation and consumer sentiment data due later. The ICE dollar index DXY +0.05% , which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, rose to 80.310, up from 80.158 in late North American trading on Thursday.
“The reduced probability of further quantitative easing in the U.S. [has] weighed upon the precious metals,” strategists at Barclays Capital said. “Gold still faces near-term hurdles such as bouts of dollar strength, broad risk reduction and profit-taking.
“However, the broader macro backdrop remains favorable for gold, given the negative interest rate environment, longer-term inflationary concerns and lingering sovereign debt uncertainties,” the strategists added.
The broader metals complex declined during European and Asian trading hours.
Silver for May delivery SIK2 -1.68% slipped 37 cents, or 1.1%, to $32.36 an ounce.
May copper HGK2 +0.22% was flat at $3.89 a pound.
April platinum PLJ2 -1.00% shed $15.80 to $1,668.10 an ounce, while June palladium PAM2 -1.34% dropped $7.55, or 1%, to $702.35 an ounce.
Virginia Harrison is a MarketWatch reporter based in Sydney.
