2023.03.3118:22:00UTC+00Gold Futures Settle Lower For The Day, But Rise More Than 8% In Month

Gold futures settled lower on Friday, but still posted gains for the month as well as the January-March quarter.

A firm dollar and rising equities weighed on the yellow metal. The dollar index climbed to 102.51, gaining nearly 0.4%.

Easing worries about a banking crisis, and data showing an unexpected slowdown in the annual rate of core consumer price growth in the U.S. lifted equities.

Gold futures for June ended lower by $11.50 or about 0.6% at $1,986.20 an ounce.

Gold futures gained about 8.1% in the month, and 8.8% in the first quarter of 2023.

Silver futures for May ended up $0.167 at $24.156 an ounce, while Copper futures for May settled at $4.0945 per pound, gaining $0.0030.

Data from the Commerce Department showed core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, jumped 4.6% year-over-year in February.

Annual price growth remains elevated, but this represents a slowdown from the 4.7% year-over-year spike in January. Economists had expected the pace of growth to be unchanged.

Including food and energy prices, the annual rate of consumer price growth also slowed to 5% in February from 5.3% in January. The pace of overall growth was also expected to be unchanged.

The Commerce Department said consumer prices rose by 0.3% on a monthly basis in February following a 0.6% advance in January. Economists had expected prices to increase by 0.4%.

Core consumer prices also increased by 0.3% on a monthly basis in February after climbing by 0.5% in January. Core prices were expected to edge up by 0.2%.