2019.10.1114:23:00UTC+00Gold Futures Settle At Near 2-week Low

Gold prices drifted lower on Friday as rising optimism about U.S.-China trade deal and easing worries about Brexit prompted investors to go in for riskier assets such as equities.

Dollar too lost ground, extending recent slide amid prospects for more monetary easing by the Federal Reserve in the near term.

The dollar index declined to 98.20 and was last seen at 98.28, down more than 0.4% from previous close.

Gold futures for December ended down $12.20, or about 0.8%, at $1,488.70 an ounce, after falling to a low of $1,478.00 around mid morning.

On Thursday, gold futures for December ended lower by $11.90, or 0.8%, at $1,500.90 an ounce.

For the week, gold futures shed about 1.6%.

Silver futures for December ended down $0.058, at $17.544 an ounce, while Copper futures for December closed up $0.0145, at $2.6280 per pound.

In economic news, Consumer prices in the U.S. were essentially flat in the month of September, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday, with higher prices for shelter and food offset by declines in prices for energy and used cars and trucks.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index was unchanged in September after inching up by 0.1% in August. Economists had expected another 0.1% uptick.

Another report from the Labor Department showed an unexpected increase in U.S. import prices in the month of September, although the report also showed an unexpected decrease in export prices. Import prices rose by 0.2% in the month, while export prices edged down by 0.2%.

According to preliminary data released by the University of Michigan, consumer sentiment in U.S. improved in the month of October, climbing to 96.0, after rising to 93.2 a month earlier. Economists had expected the index to drop to 92.0.

On the trade front, hopes about a deal, albeit an interim one, between the U.S. and China have risen after U.S. President Donald Trump commented through Twitter that good things were happening at China trade talk meeting and feelings are warmer than in recent past and more like old days.