Bullions end week on a brighter note

Bullions ended higher at Comex on Friday, 21 June 2013. Gold prices ended slightly higher on Friday but swung to a weekly loss of nearly $100, fueled by a potential slowing of the Federal Reserve's bond purchases later this year.

Gold for August delivery gained $5.80, or 0.5%, to $1,292.10 an ounce, but posted a weekly loss of $95.60 (6.8%).

The July contract for silver ended up by 14 cents, or 0.7%, to $19.96 an ounce, after dropping $1.80 on Thursday.

Gold fell to its lowest level in more than two years a day before on Thursday, 20 June. The slide began late Wednesday after an FOMC meeting. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested policymakers could start trimming back on the amount of bonds they purchase meant to push down long-term interest rates and thereby boost lending. That triggered moves in a number of markets Thursday, including weaker equities, a stronger dollar and higher Treasury yields.

Weakness in gold initially persisted into Friday's overnight session, but Chinese buying helped the market steady.

The dollar index, which weighs the strength of gold against a basket of six other currencies rose by 0.5% on Friday.

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