Gold Ends Lower For A Fifth Straight Session; Sheds 2.9% For Week

(RTTNews) - Gold futures ended lower for a fifth straight session Friday, on continued speculation the Federal Reserve may hike interest rates earlier than expected following some positive economic data out of the U.S.

Investors digested some economic data out of the U.S., including a Commerce Department report showing a fairly impressive rise in retail sales in August and a better than expected improvement in U.S. consumer sentiment.

For the week, gold futures shed about 2.9 percent for the week.

Gold plummeted to multi-month lows on expectations that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates by mid-2015. Bank of America Merrill Lynch on Friday said is now forecasting the first rate increase to occur in June 2015, three months ahead of its earlier projection.

Meanwhile, investors continued to monitor the developments in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Gold for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, dropped $7.50 or 0.6 percent to close at $1,231.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Friday.

Gold for December delivery scaled an intraday high of $1,242.30 and a low of $1,228.60 an ounce.

On Thursday, gold futures ended ended down $6.30 or 0.5 percent at $1,239 an ounce, extending losses to a fourth successive session.

Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, edged down to 788.40 tons on Friday, from its previous close of 788.72 tons on Thursday.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 84.16 on Friday, down from its previous close of 84.27 late Thursday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 84.41 intraday and a low of 84.08.

The euro trended higher against the dollar at $1.2955 on Friday, as compared to its previous close of $1.2925 late Thursday in North American trade. The euro scaled a high of $1.2979 intraday and a low of $1.2910.

In economic news from the U.S., a report from the Commerce Department showed retail sales to have risen 0.6 percent in August, following an upwardly revised 0.3 percent increase in July. This was in line with expectations.

A report from the U.S. Labor Department showed import prices to have declined by a less than expected 0.9 percent in August. The consensus estimates were for a decline of 1 percent. Export prices dropped 0.5 percent, against expectations for a 0.1 percent decline.

U.S. consumer sentiment reported a bigger than expected score of 84.6 for September, the best since July 2013, a report from Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan showed. The final August reading came in at 82.5.

Meanwhile, business inventories in the U.S increased in line with economist estimates in the month of July, rising 0.4 percent, according to the Commerce Department.

In economic news from the eurozone, employment rose 0.2 percent in the second quarter, after increasing 0.1 percent in the previous quarter. Year-on-year, employment grew 0.4 percent, faster than the 0.1 percent rise in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, Russia's central bank left its key interest rate unchanged at 8 percent, with inflation staying high due to the severe economic sanctions.