CHICAGO, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange settled higher on Friday over weak U.S. economic data and a weakened U.S. dollar.
The most active gold contract for April delivery went up 8.20 U.S. dollars, or 0.62 percent, to close at 1,322.10 dollars per ounce.
The precious metal has been moving up since Thursday afternoon after the U.S. Department of Commerce reported that retail sales in December 2018 fell 1.2 percent from the prior month, the worst drop in nine years.
The data was released well behind schedule due to the partial government shutdown.
A weaker economic momentum backed expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve would pause further interest-rates hikes.
As a result, the U.S. dollar index, a gauge of the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, fell below 97 on Friday.
Gold and the dollar usually move in opposite directions. If the dollar goes down, gold futures will rise as gold, priced in the dollar, becomes less expensive for investors holding other currencies.
Technical buying also contributed to the rise of gold on Friday, said analysts.
As for other precious metals, silver for March delivery went up 21.5 cents, or 1.38 percent, to close at 15.743 dollars per ounce. Platinum for April delivery was up 17.70 dollars, or 2.24 percent, to settle at 806.90 dollars per ounce.
