Gold Finishes Week Higher as Dollar Sinks to 3-Week Low

On Friday, gold (NYSEARCA:GLD) futures for June delivery gained $4.30 to settle at $1,664.80 per ounce, while silver (NYSEARCA:SLV) futures increased 14 cents to close at $31.34. It was the best weekly gain in gold since February.

The U.S. dollar declined to its lowest level in about three weeks after the Commerce Department said that economic growth in the United States declined. The gross domestic product rate, the broadest measure of all good and services produced in a country, grew at an annual rate of 2.2 percent in the first-quarter, missing estimates of 2.5 percent.

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The GDP rate was the slowest since the third-quarter of last year and comes only two days after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said easing tools were still on the table. James Steel, chief commodity analyst at HSBC, said, “The GDP data may confirm ongoing stimulatory U.S. monetary policies, which is positive for gold,” according to Reuters.

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In afternoon trading, the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEARCA:GLD) edged .33 percent, while the iShares Silver Trust (NYSEARCA:SLV) increased .80 percent. Gold miners (NYSEARCA:GDX) such as Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) and Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) both climbed more than 1 percent higher. Meanwhile, silver investments such as Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE:SLW) and Endeavour Silver (NYSE:EXK) gained .70 percent and .92 percent, respectively.

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Disclosure: Long EXK, AG, HL, PHYS