WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold prices moved higher on Friday, extending gains from previous session, as comments from some Federal Reserve officials helped ease concerns about policy tightening by the central bank anytime soon.
Flat retail sales data also suggest the Fed is unlikely to resort to any monetary tightening for now.
The dollar index dropped to 90.28 in the New York session. It was last seen at 90.36, down 0.4% from the previous close.
Gold futures for June ended up by $14.10 or about 0.8% at $1,838.10 an ounce, the highest settlement in about three months. Gold futures gained about 0.4% in the week.
Silver futures for July ended higher by $0.306 or 1.1% at $27.365 an ounce, while Copper futures for July settled at $4.6545 per pound, down $0.0360 or 0.8% from the previous close.
Increases in prices above the Federal Reserve's 2% goal should be temporary and the Fed would not raise rates until it sees inflation above target for a long time, said Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller on Thursday.
Fed policymakers Lael Brainard and Richard Clarida made similar comments on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
In economic releases today, a report from the Commerce Department showed retail sales were virtually unchanged in April after soaring by an upwardly revised 10.7% in March may also have eased recent concerns about inflation.
Economists had expected retail sales to jump by 1% compared to the 9.8% spike originally reported for the previous month.
A separate report from the Federal Reserve showed industrial production in the U.S. increased by less than expected in the month of April, climbing by 0.7%, after soaring by an upwardly revised 2.4% in March.
Economists had expected industrial production to surge up by 1% compared to the 1.4% jump originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, University of Michigan released a report showed the consumer sentiment index dropped to 82.8 in May from 88.3 in April. The decrease surprised economists, who had expected the index to rise to 90.4.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX