US gold futures took a breather on Friday as a dollar bounce prompted pre-weekend profit-taking following this week's sharp rally to the previous session's record high above $1,060 an ounce. Most-active December gold futures settled down $7.70 at $1,048.60 an ounce on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Ranged from $1,044.70 to $1,056.70.
GOLD: On Thursday, December rose to a record high $1,062.70 an ounce. The contract has risen about 4 percent this week. Gold continued to closely track currency market movements. The metal is used as a hedge against the dollar weakness. Peter Buchanan, commodities analyst at CIBC, has an "underweight" rating in gold because of an oversold dollar, lower investor anxiety and lessened inflation worries.
Investors in SPDR Gold Trust held steady as of October 8. The largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund bought nearly 14 tonnes of gold, lifting its holdings 1.3 percent, in the week so far. It had reported four consecutive day of inflows prior to Thursday.
India's gold collection under exchange-traded funds rose by 15.3 percent on year to 6.765 tonnes in September, data from the funds showed, in a month when the yellow metal neared its all-time high. Oil prices rose slightly to just under $72 a barrel. Unusually high gold prices relative to oil suggested downside risk to bullion - Buchanan.
Gold-to-oil ratio at 14.60, down from the previous session's 14.68. COMEX estimated final volume at 116,064 lots. Spot gold was at $1,045.60 an ounce at 2:10 pm EDT (1810 GMT), against its previous finish of $1,054 quoted late in New York.
SILVER: December silver ended down 12.5 cents at $17.690 an ounce, down with gold. Ranged from $17.555 to $17.835. COMEX estimated final volume at 26,106 lots. Spot silver was at $17.61, versus its previous finish of 17.72 an ounce.
PLATINUM: January platinum finished down $13.80 at $1,339.40 an ounce as investors took profits after Thursday's gains. Spot platinum was at $1,326.50, compared with its previous finish of $1,344.50.
PALLADIUM: December palladium closed up $1.15 at $323.75 an ounce on strong investment demand. Spot palladium was at $318, against its previous close of $318.
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