FX.co ★ Gold Futures Settle Higher As Dollar, Equities Fall

Gold prices climbed higher and lifted the most active gold futures contract to a strong close on Friday as a weak dollar and falling U.S. stocks pushed up the demand for the safe-haven commodity.

The dollar index dropped to 106.11 this morning before recovering some lost ground. The index was hovering around 106.50 a little while ago, down nearly 0.4% from the previous close.

Gold futures for August ended higher by $14.00 or about 0.8% at $1,727.40 an ounce.

Silver futures for September closed lower by $0.102 at $18.617 an ounce, while Copper futures for September settled at $3.3495 per pound, up $0.0510 from the previous close.

U.S. stocks fell sharply on some disappointing earnings updates. The Dow shed about 0.7%, the S&P 500 drifted down 1.25% and the Nasdaq tumbled more than 2%.

Data from Markit Economics showed that according to flash estimates the S&P Global US Composite PMI registered a score of 47.5 in July, down notably from 52.3 in June to signal a solid contraction in private sector output.

The S&P Global US Manufacturing PMI edged lower to 52.3 in July of 2022 from 52.7 in June, compared to market forecasts of 52, preliminary estimates showed.