Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

New York— Gold futures declined Friday on a rising dollar, but the misstep didn't dent the metal's weekly gain of 1%. Gold for December delivery retreated $6.60, or 0.5%, to $1,228.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Strong gains earlier in the week guaranteed the rise, keeping investors' hopes that gold will continue to trend higher. Gold has risen in the past three weeks, including a rise of 1.6% in the previous week.

The stronger dollar was reason No. 1 for Friday's slide, said Michael K. Smith, with T & K Futures and Options Inc. in Florida. Volumes were also thin, he added. Charles Nedoss, a senior market strategist at with Olympus Futures in Chicago, also saw margin calls dampening gold's prospects. "People are trying to defend their equity positions," he said. See full story.