2021.10.1518:40:00UTC+00Gold Futures Settle Sharply Lower

Gold futures snapped a three-day winning streak and settled lower on Friday, weighed down by strong equities markets and higher bond yields.

Yields remain supported amid expectations that the Federal Reserve and other central banks are going to tighten their monetary policy.

The yield on U.S. 10-year Treasury note surged to 1.573% in the session, although it was down from last Friday's close of over 1.60%.

The dollar index, which advanced to 94.07, dropped to 93.85 around late morning but recovered subsequently. It was last seen at 93.98, up marginally from the previous close.

Gold futures for December ended down by $29.60 or about 1.7% at $1,768.30 an ounce, after settling at one-month high on Thursday.

Gold futures gained about 0.6% in the week, the best weekly returns in six weeks.

Silver futures for December closed lower by $0.128 or about 0.6% at $23.349 an ounce. Silver futures added 2.8% in the week.

Copper futures for December settled at $4.7295 per pound, gaining $0.0980 or 2.1%. Copper futures climbed as much as 11% in the week.

Data from the Commerce Department showed retail sales climbed by 0.7% in September after jumping by an upwardly revised 0.9% in August. Economists had expected retail sales to edge down by 0.2% compared to the 0.7% increase originally reported for the previous month.

A report from the Labor Department showed import prices in the U.S. rose by 0.4% in September after dipping by 0.3% in August. Economists had expected import prices to climb by 0.6%.

A report from the University of Michigan showed the consumer sentiment index slipped to 71.4 in October from 72.8 in September. The dip surprised economists, who had expected the index to inch up to 73.1.