Gold Move Back To The Downside, Plunges 4.6% For The Week

(RTTNews) - Extending the see-saw movement seen over the past few sessions, gold stocks moved back to the downside on Friday following yesterday's rebound.

After jumping $39.30 or 1.2 percent to $3,220.70 an ounce during Thursday's session, gold for May delivery tumbled $38.70 or 1.2 percent to $3,182 an ounce.

With the pullback on the day, the price of gold plunged by 4.6 percent for the week due in large part to the steep drop on Monday.

The nosedive on Monday came on the news of a U.S.-China trade deal temporarily slashing steep tariffs on each other's goods, and easing trade concerns have continued to weigh on the precious metal.

The U.S.-China deal along with some relief of geopolitical tensions has led to some strength in the value of the U.S. dollar this week and dented gold's appeal as a safe-haven asset.

Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off preliminary data from the University of Michigan showing consumer sentiment in the U.S. has unexpectedly continued to deteriorate in the month of May.

The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index dipped to 50.8 in May after slumping to 52.2 in April. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 53.4.

With the unexpected decrease, the consumer sentiment index has fallen to its lowest level since hitting 50.0 in June 2022.

The report also said year-ahead inflation expectations surged to 7.3 percent in May from 6.5 percent in April, reaching the highest level since a matching figure in November 1981.