Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

San Francisco— Gold futures settled at a two-month low Friday as signs of an improving economic outlook have made riskier assets such as stocks more attractive to investors. Gold for February delivery fell $5.50, or 0.4%, to $1,341 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, recovering from much steeper losses earlier. Even so, it was gold�s lowest settlement since Nov. 17. Gold lost 1.4% this week, marked by big dips the previous Friday and on Thursday and only modest gains in between.

Upbeat fourth-quarter financial results reported by heavyweights General Electric Co. and Google Inc. �are supporting economic optimism,� said Adam Klopfenstein, senior market strategist with Lind-Waldock in Chicago. Stocks gained on Wall Street. Meanwhile, concerns over Europe�s sovereign debt eased Friday as German business sentiment soared to an all-time high, sending the euro to the highest in two weeks against the U.S. dollar. See full story.