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(RTTNews) – After ending the previous session modestly lower, the price of gold moved back to the upside during trading on Friday.
Gold for April delivery climbed $14.10 or 0.8 percent to $1,854.60 an ounce after slipping $4.90 or 0.3 percent to $1,840.50 an ounce during Thursday’s trading. With the increase on the day, the price of gold surged 2.1 percent for the week.
The increase by the price of gold came amid a decrease by the value of the U.S. dollar, with the U.S. dollar index falling by 0.3 percent.
The pullback by the dollar and subsequent rebound by gold came amid easing concerns about the outlook for interest rates following recent comments from Federal Reserve officials and the latest economic data.
The Institute for Supply Management released a report this morning showing a very slight slowdown in the pace of growth in U.S. service sector activity in the month of February.
The ISM said its services PMI edged down to 55.1 in February from 55.2 in January, although a reading above 50 still indicates growth in the sector. Economists had expected the index to slip to 54.5.
The report also showed the prices index fell to 65.6 in February from 67.8 in January, pointing to a slowdown in the pace of price growth.
“Overall, there isn’t much in the ISM services report to suggest the Fed needs to raise rates significantly higher than previously planned,” said Andrew Hunter, Deputy Chief US Economist at Capital Economics.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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