WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold prices moved higher on Friday, as traders sought the safe-haven asset amid uncertainty about the pace of economic recovery from the Covid-19-induced downturn, and on hopes central banks will come out with fresh stimulus to boost growth.
Lingering concerns about U.S.-China tensions, and a weak dollar also contributed significantly to gold's uptick.
The dollar index, which settled at 96.35 on Thursday, tumbled to 95.90 this afternoon, losing nearly 0.5%.
Gold futures for August ended up $9.70 or about 0.5% at $1,810.00 an ounce. For the week, gold futures gained about 0.5%, extending its streak to a sixth straight week.
Silver futures for September advanced $0.191 or about 1% to $19.764 an ounce, recording a gain of about 3.75% for the week.
Copper futures for September settled at $2.9045 per pound, gaining $0.0030 or 1%. Copper futures logged a gain of 0.2% this week.
In economic news, a report from the University of Michigan showed an unexpected deterioration in U.S. consumer sentiment in the month of July. The preliminary report said the consumer sentiment index tumbled to 73.2 in July after jumping to 78.1 in June. The pullback surprised economists, who had expected the index to inch up to 79.0.
A report released by the Commerce Department showed U.S. housing starts spiked by 17.3% to an annual rate of 1.186 million in June after jumping by 8.2% to an upwardly revised rate of 1.011 million in May. Economists had expected housing starts to soar by 20% to a rate of 1.169 million from the 974,000 originally reported for the previous month.
The report also said building permits increased by 2.1% to an annual rate of 1.241 million in June after surging up by 14.1 to a downwardly revised rate of 1.216 million in May.
Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, had been expected to jump by 5.7% to a rate of 1.290 million from the 1.220 million originally reported for the previous month.
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