Bullion prices ended mixed on Friday, 13 March 2015 at Comex. Gold futures held their ground above $1,150 an ounce on Friday, finding some support as economic data cooled expectations for a Federal Reserve interest-rate increase as early as June, but prices lost 1% for the week, pressured by gains in the U.S. dollar.
Gold wavered between small losses and gains. April gold climbed 50 cents to settle at $1,152.40 an ounce on Comex. For the week, it logged a loss of about 1%.
May silver fell 2.2 cents, or 0.1%, to $15.494 an ounce — nearly 2% lower for the week.
A stronger dollar weighs on dollar-denominated commodities, making them more expensive to users of other currencies. Expectations for a June rate hike by the Fed has helped support the dollar. Looking ahead, the Federal Reserve will hold a two-day meeting beginning on Tuesday.
Economic data on Friday included PPI and Michigan Sentiment. Producer prices declined 0.5% in February after declining 0.8% in January while the consensus expected an increase of 0.3% The drop in producer prices was a shock. Market expected a rise in energy prices would offset any weaknesses from other sectors, but that did not happen. Energy prices were flat in February after declining 10.3% in January. Food prices declined 1.6% in February after declining 1.1% in January, which was the third consecutive monthly decline in food prices. Most of the drop resulted from a 17.1% decline in fresh and dry vegetable prices. Excluding food and energy, core PPI also declined 0.5% in February after declining 0.1% in January while the consensus expected an increase of 0.1%.
The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index dropped to 91.2 in the preliminary March reading from 95.4 while the consensus expected an increase to 95.8. Slightly higher gasoline prices and a volatile equity market offset continued strengthening in the labor market.