: Gold futures fall, hold onto a gain for the week

Gold futures declined on Friday, but held onto a more than 3% gain for the week. Gold prices dipped Friday after a “shockingly hot [U.S.] nonfarm payroll report brought back the dollar to life,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA. Financial markets had to increase their Federal Reserve rate hiking expectations after wages surged in November, he said. Still, gold has had a “nice rally” since early November and a significant pullback doesn’t seem warranted as the economy is slowing down and inflation should “steadily decline here and justify a pause in Fed rate hikes after the first quarter.” Gold for February delivery GCG23 fell $5.60, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,809.60 an ounce on Comex. Based on the most-active contracts, prices rose 3.2% for the week, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

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