WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold prices moved higher on Friday and lifted the most active gold futures contract to a three-week closing high as the dollar shed some ground after moving higher and yields on long-term bonds stabilised a bit.
The dollar index, which climbed to 92.17 around mid-morning, after languishing in the red in the Asian session, pared some gains subsequently and was last seen at 91.92, up just marginally over previous close.
U.S. bond yields edged off the 14-month highs reached the day before in reaction to the Fed's decision to allow inflation to accelerate more than normal. The 10-year Treasury yield pulled back after economic data released overnight proved to be a mixed bag.
Gold futures for April ended higher by $9.20 or about 0.5% at $1,741.70 an ounce, the highest settlement since February 25.
Gold futures gained about 1.3% in the week.
Silver futures for May closed lower by $0.030 or about 0.1% at $26.321 an ounce, while Copper futures for May settled at $4.1130 per pound, gaining $0.0050 for the session.
Data from the Labor Department Thursday showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly increased in the week ended March 13th.
The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 770,000, an increase of 45,000 from the previous week's revised level of 725,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 700,000 from the 712,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX