Gold Ends Higher On Mixed Data; Gains 4.5% For Week

(RTTNews) - Gold futures ended higher Friday, after some mixed macroeconomic data out of the U.S. eased speculations the Federal reserve would taper its quantitative easing program sooner than expected. The uptick comes with the dollar trading higher against a basket of major currencies and with physical demand expected to support bullion prices after recent data revealed higher gold consumption in India and China.

For the week, gold gained 4.5 percent - the best in over two years.

New home construction in the U.S. was up sharply in July, but still fell short of projections made by economists, a Commerce Department report showed Friday. New building permits also improved in July, but came in short of economists' expectations.

On a positive note, non-farm productivity for the second quarter improved better than expected, a preliminary report from the U.S. Labor Department showed. Meanwhile, U.S. employees were more productive and worked longer hours in the second quarter, a Labor Department report showed Friday.

Gold for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, gained $10.10 or 0.7 percent to close at $1,371.00 an ounce Friday on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold for December delivery scaled an intraday high of $1,375.40 and a low of $1,357.00 an ounce.

Yesterday, gold settled sharply higher near a two-month high with investors seeking safe haven in the precious metal while tracking declining U.S. equity markets. A slew of upbeat macroeconomic data from the U.S. and Europe again renewed investor concerns the Federal Reserve would likely slash its quantitative easing program, sooner rather than later.

Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, moved down to 912.92 tons from 913.23 tons.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 81.35 on Friday, up from 81.17 late Thursday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 81.40 intraday and a low of 81.05.

The euro traded lower against the dollar at $1.3328 on Friday, as compared to $1.3346 late Thursday in North America. The euro scaled a high of $1.3380 intraday and a low of $1.3312.

In economic news from the U.S., the Commerce Department said housing starts increased 5.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 896,000 units. June's starts were revised up to show a 846,000-unit pace instead of the previously reported 836,000 units. Economists expected housing starts to rise to a 900,000-unit rate last month. Meanwhile, building permits rose 2.7 percent in July to a 943,000-unit pace, almost matching economists expectations for a rise to a 945,000 units.

Productivity in the U.S. rose at a 0.9 percent annual rate in the second quarter, beating expectations for a modest 0.7 percent increase. This follows revised 1.7 percent declines in both the first quarter of 2013 and the last quarter of 2012. Output was up 2.6 percent amid a 1.7 percent rise in hours worked. Labor costs increased 1.4 percent in the second quarter of 2013, due in part to a 2.3 percent increase in hourly pay. Manufacturing sector productivity rose 2.7 percent.

Elsewhere, the eurozone current account surplus declined in June mainly due to a fall in visible trade surplus, monthly data from the European Central Bank showed. The current account surplus decreased to a seasonally adjusted EUR 16.9 billion from EUR 19.5 billion in May.

Meanwhile, final data from Eurostat revealed eurozone's annual inflation to have stayed unchanged in July as estimated earlier. The harmonized index of consumer prices increased 1.6 percent on an annual basis in July, which was unchanged from the growth recorded in June. The outcome also matched the preliminary estimates.

In a separate report, the Eurostat said euro zone exports expanded in June after falling for two consecutive months. Exports advanced 3 percent in June from May, when it decreased by 2.6 percent. Likewise, imports rose 2.5 percent, offsetting the 2.1 percent fall in May.