After posting hefty gains on Thursday, gold prices retreated on Friday as global stock markets rebounded after plunging sharply in the previous session and the dollar gained in strength.
Buoyed by upbeat exports data from China and on reports that the U.S. Treasury Department, in an internal report, has not labeled China as a currency manipulator, markets in Asia and Europe surged higher on Friday.
U.S. stocks moved up as well, due largely on bargain hunting after two successive days of losses. The market's upmove was also aided by reports that top White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told reporters a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at a multilateral summit in November is "under discussion."
The dollar index was up by about 0.25% at 94.93.
Gold futures for December ended down $5.60, or 0.5%, at $1,222.00 an ounce. On Thursday, gold futures ended up $34.20, or 2.9%, at $1,227.60 an ounce, the highest settlement since August 1.
For the week, gold futures gained about 1.4%.
Silver futures for December settled at $14.635 an ounce, gaining $0.029 for the session.
Copper futures for December ended down $0.0025, at $2.8005 per pound.
According to a report released by Customs Administration on Friday, China's exports logged a double-digit growth in September to beat forecasts despite escalating trade tensions with the U.S.Exports grew 14.5% year-on-year in September, faster than the 9.8% increase seen in August and the expected
increase of 8.8%. Imports advanced 14.3% annually compared to the forecast of 12.4% and August's 19.9% rise.
The trade surplus increased to around $32 billion in September, but below the forecast of $38 billion.
In U.S. economic news, data released by the Labor Department showed a much bigger than expected increase in U.S. import prices in the month of September. The report said import prices climbed by 0.5% in September after falling by a revised 0.4% in August. Economists had expected import prices to rise by 0.2%.
Meanwhile, the report said export prices came in unchanged in September after slipping by a revised 0.2% in August. Export prices had also been expected to increase by 0.2%.
A separate report from the University of Michigan showed a modest decrease in consumer sentiment in the month of October. The report showed the consumer sentiment index dipped to 99.0 in October from the final September reading of 100.1. The drop surprised economists, who had expected the index to inch up to 100.4.
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