Gold ended modestly lower Thursday to post a fourth weekly loss in a row, with a jump in U.S. retail figures providing support for the dollar, dulling the appeal of the precious metal.
On Thursday, gold for June delivery GCM9, +0.09% on Comex fell by 80 cents, or less than 0.1%, to settle at $1,276 an ounce. The settlement was the lowest finish for a most-active contract since Dec. 26, according to FactSet data.
Gold lost 1.5% for the holiday-shortened week, following three consecutive weeks of declines. Metals trading on Comex and Globex will be closed for Good Friday.
"U.S. dollar strength, enhanced not only by economic data but release of the Mueller report is going to keep a lid on gold in the short term," said Jeff Wright, executive vice president of GoldMining Inc. The U.S. special counsel's report, which revealed that President Donald Trump tried to seize control of the Russia probe, helped ease some of the uncertainty that had supported haven gold.
Still, the precious metal saw a limited decline for the session on the back of a retreat in U.S. bond yields and as eurozone data softened, renewing worries about global growth.
Developments in U.S.-China trade talks were also on investors' radar. Washington and Beijing have set a tentative timeline for the next round of talks and are aiming to wrap up negotiations by early June, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Wednesday.
"The U.S. Dollar Index is firm and gold's chart suggests that gold's path of least resistance is lower in the near-term," Mike Armbruster, managing partner at Altavest, told MarketWatch.
Armbruster added: "I cannot divine any impact on gold or equity markets from the release of the Mueller report. If anything, the Mueller report reduces political risk in the U.S., which would be negative for gold and positive for equity markets."
Meanwhile, U.S. retail sales were strong, posting a 1.6% gas-fueled gain in March. Other data, including a snapshot of Philadelphia-area economic health, wasn't as strong. U.S. benchmark stock indexes were mixed. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, +0.40% was up 0.5% as gold futures settled.
Gold was underpinned in part as the IHS Market composite purchasing managers index for the eurozone - a measure of activity in the manufacturing and services sectors based on a survey of 5,000 businesses - fell to a three-month low of 51.3 in April from 51.6 in March. A reading of 50 or above indicates improving conditions. The data underscore expectations the European Central Bank can maintain easy monetary policy. Gold, as a nonyielding asset, tends to drop when central banks raise interest rates, and vice versa.
Prices for the metal had barely budged in the immediate wake of the release of the U.S. Federal Reserve's Beige Book, the snapshot of U.S. economic conditions, after gold futures settled on Wednesday. The report showed that economic activity expanded at a "slight-moderate" pace in March and early April. That's also evidence that the Fed may stick with its pause to rate increases for now.
Read: It's tough to be pessimistic on silver at current prices, says portfolio manager
In other trading, May silver SIK9, +0.17% added 1.6 cents, or 0.1%, at $14.955 an ounce, for a weekly loss of less than 0.1%. May copper HGK9, -1.65% fell 1.6% to $2.92 a pound, with prices settling 0.9% lower on the week. June palladium PAM9, +2.28% added 1.4% to $1,398.50 an ounce, posting a rise of 3.6% for the week, while July platinum PLN9, +1.76% rose 1.4% to $903.70 an ounce, ending 0.6% higher than last week's finish.
Among exchange-traded funds, SPDR Gold Shares GLD, +0.07% edged higher, but was still over 1% lower for the week.
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