Gold Futures Settle Higher As Dollar Turns Weak

Gold futures settled higher on Friday as the dollar turned weak against its major counterparts, weighed down by data showing a surprise contraction in the American economy in the first quarter.

The dollar had been moving up steadily over the past few sessions amid expectations of aggressive rate hikes by the Federal Reserve to combat inflation.

The dollar index, which rose to a near 20-year high to $103.93 on Thursday, dropped to 102.82 today, losing about 0.8%.

Gold futures for June ended higher by $20.40 or about 1.1% at $1,911.70 an ounce, off the session’s high of $1,921.30.

Silver futures for July ended down by $0.096 at $23.085 an ounce, while Copper futures for July settled at $4.4085 per pound, down $0.0250 from the previous close.

A report released by the Commerce Department showed U.S. personal income increased by slightly more than expected in the month of March, rising by 0.5% in the month, after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.7% in February.

Economists had expected personal income to rise by 0.4% compared to the 0.5% increase originally reported for the previous month.

The report also showed personal spending jumped by 1.1% in March after advancing by an upwardly revised 0.6% in February.

Personal spending was expected to increase by 0.7% compared to the 0.2% uptick originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, a reading on inflation said to be preferred by the Fed showed the annual rate of core consumer price growth slowed to 5.2% in March from 5.3% in February.

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