Gold falls on expected inflation data

F.P. Report

CHICAGO: Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell on Friday as US inflation data met market expectations.

The most active gold contract for February delivery fell 0.6 US dollars, or 0.03 percent, to close at 1,929.4 dollars per ounce.

Gold holds onto a slight gain of nearly 0.1 percent for the week, the sixth weekly gain in a row.

The US Commerce Department reported Friday that the US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index excluding food and energy, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, increased 4.4 percent year on year in December, down from the 4.7-percent reading in November and the slowest annual rate of increase since October 2021.

The data, in line with market estimate, indicates that US inflation is waning.
Other economic data released Friday also dampened gold.

The Consumer Sentiment Index released by the University of Michigan (UM) Surveys of Consumers rose to 64.9 in the January 2023 survey, up from 59.7 in December. (APP)