Dull day for precious metals

Gold futures slumped on Friday for a seventh consecutive session

Bullion metal prices fell on Friday, 17 May 2013 at Comex. Gold futures slumped on Friday for a seventh consecutive session, as the dollar index jumped to nearly three-year highs and U.S. data raised optimism about the economic recovery.

Gold for June delivery settled down $22.20 (1.6%) to $1,364.70 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The metal has fallen by $109 in the last seven sessions, with gains for U.S. stocks and the dollar among the factors that have curbed gold's attraction for investors. Gold lost 5% for the week.

July silver fell 31 cents (1.4%) to $22.35 an ounce on Friday. Silver lost 5.5% for the week.

Although things settled down, the market's bullish underpinnings were solidified by the stronger-than-expected University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment report for May and the Leading Indicators report for April. The former checked in at 83.7 versus 76.4 in the prior month and the consensus estimate of 78.5.

In turn, the Index of Leading Indicators showed a 0.6% increase versus a 0.2% decline in March and the consensus estimate of 0.3%.

Friday's economic news helped mitigate the disappointment of Thursday's generally underwhelming news for initial claims, housing starts, and the Philadelphia Fed Index.

In the currency market on Friday, the dollar index, which weighs the strength of the dollar against a basket of six other currencies, rose by 0.5%. The dollar got a boost on Thursday after San Francisco Federal Reserve President John Williams said that the Fed could slow its $85 billion-a-month bond-buying program as soon as this summer if the economy expands in line with his forecasts.

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