Gold down on stronger US dollar

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell on Friday as the U.S. dollar strengthened.

The most active gold contract for December delivery fell 11 U.S. dollars, or 0.81 percent, to settle at 1,346.2 dollars per ounce.

Gold was put under pressure as little news and low volume was the feature of the day, leading to a rebound in the U.S. Dollar Index, which rose by 0.47 percent to 94.60 as of 1730 GMT.

The index is a measure of the dollar against a basket of major currencies. Gold and the dollar typically move in opposite directions, which means if the dollar goes up, gold futures will fall as gold, measured by the dollar, becomes more expensive for investors.

The precious metal was prevented from falling further as the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 67 points, or 0.36 percent as of 1730 GMT. Analysts note that when equities post losses, the precious metal usually goes up, as investors are looking for a safe haven, while the opposite is true when U.S. equities post gains.

As there were no major economic reports released on Friday, traders are still in the process of digesting the Fed's meeting minutes released on Wednesday.

According to the CME Group's Fedwatch tool, the current implied probability of a hike from 0.50 to 0.75 is at 18 percent at the September 2016 meeting, 25 percent at the November 2016 meeting, and 54 percent at the December meeting.

Silver for September delivery fell 42.3 cents, or 2.14 percent, to close at 19.317 dollars per ounce. Platinum for October delivery dropped 14.8 dollars, or 1.31 percent, to close at 1,118.4 dollars per ounce.

Source : XINHUA