After experiencing significant gains in the past two sessions, the price of gold exhibited a modest decline in Friday's trading. The January gold futures slightly decreased by $2.10, or 0.1%, closing at $2,744.30 per ounce. This minor dip follows a substantial increase of more than $30 per ounce in each of the preceding two days.
Despite this slight daily downturn, gold prices for January delivery rose 1.3% over the week, marking its third consecutive weekly increase. The minor decrease might be attributed to investors engaging in profit-taking, as gold prices recently hit their highest levels in over two months.
Additionally, an uptick in the U.S. dollar value may have exerted downward pressure on the precious metal, with the U.S. dollar index rising by 0.3% to 109.29.
In related U.S. economic developments, the Federal Reserve published a report indicating that industrial production in December surged more than anticipated. According to the Fed, industrial production increased by 0.9% in December, following a revised 0.2% rise in November. Economists had predicted a more modest 0.3% increase, in contrast to the initially reported 0.1% decline for the preceding month.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company -
www.instaforex.com
