• Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell on Friday as the U.S. dollar showed moderate strength.
• The most active gold contract for February delivery fell 1.4 U.S. dollars, or 0.12 percent, to settle at 1,188.40 dollars per ounce.
• Silver for March delivery rose 28.6 cents, or 1.70 percent, to close at 17.136 dollars per ounce.
• The U.S. Dollar Index rose by 0.03 percent to 100.56 as of 2000 GMT. The index is a measure of the dollar against a basket of major currencies.
• Gold was given support as the durable goods orders report released by the U.S. Department of Commerce on Friday showed its key new orders measure decreasing by 0.4 percent during the month of December. Analysts note that this was much worse-than-expected and far outside the consensus range. The same analysts note a significant decrease in orders for defense aircraft.
• The gross domestic product (GDP) report released on Friday showed U.S. gross domestic product increasing by 1.9 percent during the fourth quarter of 2016. Analysts note that this was within the consensus range but below the expected 2.2 percent. The same analysts note weakness in demand as well. All of these factors supported the precious metal during trading on Friday.
• Investors will be carefully monitoring the February Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting scheduled for next week for hints on when to expect the next rate hike. Investors believe the Fed may raise rates from 0.75 to 1.00 during the March FOMC meeting at the earliest.
• According to the CME Group's Fedwatch tool, the current implied probability of a hike from 0.50 to at least 0.75 is at 4 percent at the February meeting and 25 percent for the March meeting.
• Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said that he sees gold fighting to find support next week as the market is pressured by rising bond yields. He added that he sees the Fed taking a cautious tone next week but expectations of eventual rate hikes will overshadow the gold market.
While gold ended the week near a two-week low, the market has managed to hold key support above $1,182 an ounce. Analysts said this is the first level to watch as prices try to find some support.
Hansen said that if gold falls below $1,182 an ounce, there will be an important battle for support between $1,172 and $1,160. A break of these channels could lead to a test of the 2016 lows.
• Chris Beauchamp, market analyst at IG, warned that with little buying pressure, it could only be a matter of time before prices test support at $1,173 an ounce. “Below this, $1160 and $1140 come into view. Any buying will need to recover $1190 to suggest the pullback has run its course,” he said.
Reference: Xinhua, Kitco
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