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Gold reverses earlier gains on profit taking; oil gains 5% on week

Published: 14:52 26 Apr 2013 EDT

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Gold futures finished with a loss on Friday, reversing earlier gains. Gold for June delivery gave up 0.6 percent to settle at $1,453.60 an ounce on Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Early on Friday, the precious metal gained on news that the U.S. economy expanded less than expected in the first quarter, which lifted the bullion’s safe-haven appeal. Then prices went down as gains of more than 10 percent were overdone. 

For the week, gold futures picked up 4.2 percent, ending a four-week losing streak.

In other metals, May silver slid 1.6 percent to settle at $23.76 an ounce, after a leap of 5.7 percent on Thursday. Prices rose 3.5 percent for the week.

May copper slid 1.6 percent to finish at $3.185 a pound, up 2.3 percent for the week. 

Moving to energy markets, crude-oil futures slumped on Friday as disappointing first-quarter U.S. economic growth fed worries over the outlook for energy demand.

Crude oil for June delivery slipped 0.7 percent to settle at $93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices gained 5.4 percent for the week.

U.S. data on Friday indicated that gross domestic product accelerated at a 2.5 percent annual rate in the first quarter, up from 0.4 percent in the previous quarter, but below the 3.2 percent predicted by economists surveyed by MarketWatch.

Also on Friday, the University of Michigan-Thomson Reuters consumer-sentiment measure slid to a final April reading of 76.4, the lowest since January. Economists were modeling a reading of 74.

 

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