Bullions register modest weekly losses

Gold settles at lowest levels in six weeks

Gold and silver prices settled at their lowest level in six weeks on Friday, 01 July 2011 at Comex. Prices fell as investors flocked to equities turning away from commodities. Prices also fell the pinch of a stronger dollar.

Gold for August delivery declined $20.20, or 1.3%, to $1,482.60 an ounce on the Comex division of New York Mercantile Exchange, bringing weekly losses to 1.2%.



Silver for September delivery shed $1.13, or 3.2%, to $33.71 an ounce. Silver had gained for the past three sessions. On the week, silver lost 2.7%.

At Wall Street, once trade opened and participants got their hands on the latest domestic manufacturing data, the mood among traders improved markedly. The ISM Manufacturing Index improved to 55.3 for June. It had actually been widely expected to fall to 51.1. The report completely overshadowed the final June reading on consumer sentiment and an unexpected slip in construction spending during May.

Separately, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey worsened in June, falling to a reading of 71.5 from 74.3 in May. Also, U.S. construction spending fell 0.6% in May from a revised 0.6% drop in April.