By Gold futures were little-changed on Friday as a rally that has driven the price of the yellow metal higher by 17% since Nov. 2 took a breather.
Price action
Gold prices for February
GC00,
+0.05%
GCG23,
+0.05%
were little-changed at $1,930 an ounce on Comex after trading at a nine-month high for a most-active contract earlier in the week.
Silver prices for March
SI00,
-1.42%
SIH23,
-1.42%
fell by 28 cents, or 1.2%, to $23.75 per ounce.
March palladium fell by $13.30, or 0.8%, to $1,650 per ounce, while platinum for April
PLJ23,
-0.87%
declined by $7, or 0.7%, to $1,015.
Copper for March
HGH23,
-0.28%
fell by $7, or 0.7%, to $1,016 per pound.
Market drivers
The rally in gold prices took a pause as the U.S. dollar strengthened on Friday, precious metals analysts said.
Gold prices were little-changed even after the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation indicator, the PCE index, showed consumer prices increased by just 0.1% in December, the smallest increase in 15 months.
The annual increase in prices slowed to 5% in December from 5.5% in the prior month and a 40-year high of 7% last summer. The increase in the core rate of inflation in the past 12 months decelerated to 4.4% from 4.7%. That’s also the lowest level in 14 months.
See: Inflation rate in the U.S. slows again to 15-month low, PCE shows
“The gold market is pausing after recent gains that pushed prices to a nine-month high on Thursday,” said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco.com.
