WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold prices edged lower on Friday as the dollar gained in strength and worries about U.S.-China trade dispute eased following the two countries agreeing on a phase one trade deal and looking set to sign the agreement early next month.
The dollar index strengthened to 97.76, gaining nearly 0.4%, on fairly strong economic data.
Gold futures for February ended down $3.50, or about 0.2%, at $1,480.90 an ounce.
On Thursday, gold futures for February ended up $5.70, or 0.4%, at $1,484.40 an ounce.
Silver futures for March ended up $0.070 at $17.224 an ounce, while Copper futures for March settled at $2.8060 per pound, down $0.0205 from previous close.
A week after Beijing and Washington agreed a trade agreement, China announced a list of United States (US) chemicals that will be exempted from import tariffs.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday a trade deal with China was finished and is ready for signing after the holidays.
Mnuchin told CNBC television that increased Chinese purchases of U.S. agricultural, manufactured goods, energy and services would add about a half percentage point to U.S. economic growth during the next two years.
On the economic front, a report released by the Commerce Department on Friday showed U.S. economic growth in the third quarter was unrevised from the previous estimate.
The Commerce Department said real gross domestic product jumped by 2.1% in the third quarter, unchanged from the estimate released last month and in line with economist expectations.
The unrevised GDP growth in the third quarter reflects a modest acceleration from the 2% increase seen in the second quarter.
Another report from the Commerce Department said personal income climbed by 0.5% in November after inching up by a revised 0.1% in October.
Economists had expected personal income to rise by 0.3% compared to the virtually unchanged reading originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, consumer sentiment in the U.S. improved by slightly more than initially estimated in the month of December, according to a report from the University of Michigan.
The report said the consumer sentiment index for December was upwardly revised to 99.3 from the preliminary reading of 99.2. Economists had expected the index to be unrevised.
With the upward revision, the consumer sentiment index for December is even further above the final November reading of 96.8.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2019 AFX News
