Investing.com -- The U.S. debt ceiling deal is done but gold isn’t quite dead yet, as some had been speculating.
Futures of the yellow metal settled down on Friday for the first time in three days. But the drop could not wipe gains over three previous days, leaving gold in the positive for the week.
The front-month gold contract on New York’s Comex settled at $1,969.60 an ounce, down $25.90, or 1.3%, on the day. The benchmark for gold futures hit a two-week high of $2,000.65 in the previous session. For the week, Comex’s front-month gold contract posted a return of 1.3%.
The spot price of gold, which reflects physical trades in bullion and is more closely followed than futures by some traders, was at $1,953.19 by 13:30 ET (17:30 GMT), down $24.33, or 1.2%, as futures trading came to a close. Spot gold hit a one-week high of $1,983.44 on Friday before reversing.
Gold had a positive week despite the dollar rising for a second time in three sessions as forex traders reacted to the Senate passage for the debt ceiling deal that only needs President Joe Biden’s signature next.
U.S. jobs data for May also proved stronger than expected while unemployment itself rose and wage growth slowed, resulting in a split opinion among economists on whether policy makers at the Federal Reserve would hike interest rates again when they meet on June 14.