Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

New York— Gold for December delivery finished a volatile session slightly lower on Friday, ending four straight sessions of gains, due to a stronger dollar and with high volatility brought about in markets by the expiration of equities futures and options contracts. Gold for December delivery finished down $3.20, or 0.3%, at $1,010.30 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It traded as high as $1,019.50 and fell to an intraday low of 1,008.00. December gold hit an 18-month high at $1,025.80 an ounce on Thursday. The thinly-traded September contract finished at $1,009.20 an ounce, down $3.10, or 0.4%. The record intraday price for a front-month gold contract is $1,033.90 an ounce, set on March 17, 2008.

Gold still gained 0.4% in a week during which upbeat economic data encouraged more investors to take risks, sending the dollar to its weakest levels of the year. The SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest gold exchange-traded fund, fell 0.3%. After slumping to its lows of the year this weak, the dollar gained ground on Friday, lifted by apparent short covering as traders booked profits ahead of next week's meeting of U.S. Federal Reserve policy makers. See full story.