Bullions end lower on Friday

Gold manages to eke out weekly gains

Precious metals ended lower on Friday, 04 November 2011 at Comex. Mixed bag of economic data and strong dollar pushed prices lower in a market where also traders retorted to profit booking after bullions' recent rally.

Gold for December delivery ended lower by $9.4 or 0.5%, to end at $1,755.7 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Friday. For the week, gold gained 0.5%. For the month of October, gold gained 6.3%. It registered a rise of 8% for the third quarter ending September.



On Friday, silver prices for December delivery shed $0.41 or 1.2% to end at $34.08. For the week, silver lost 3.4%. For the month of October, silver gained 14%. It registered a drop of 14% for the third quarter ending September.

The Labor Department in US reported on Friday, 04 November 2011 that the economy gained a net 80,000 jobs in October, with the jobless rate falling to 9.0% from 9.1%. Market had predicted a net gain of 90,000 jobs. No change was expected in the unemployment rate.

In the currency market on Friday, the Dollar Index, which weighs the strength of dollar against basket of six other currencies rose by 0.6%.

Generally, a stronger dollar pressures demand for dollar-denominated commodities, such as crude oil and gold, which become more expensive for holders of other currencies and also vice versa. But bullion metals have registered increase in prices despite strong dollar in recent times and vice versa.