Gold Ends Day, Week Higher, But Pares Firmer Gain On Dollar Strength

Gold futures on Friday finished higher, but well off its loftiest levels for the session, as strength in the U.S. dollar and a rebound in stocks dulled the yellow metal's early surge following U.S. airstrikes on Syria. June gold closed $4, or 0.3%, up at $1,257.30 an ounce. A much weaker-than-expected March jobs report had helped the yellow metal to extend gains but a firming dollar eroded some of the commodity's appeal. A stronger greenback tends to make assets pegged to the currency more expensive to buyers using other monetary units. One popular measure of the dollar, the ICE U.S. Dollar Index , rose 0.6% at 101.17. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index also rebounded somewhat after coming under selling pressure early in the session, luring some investors away from havens and into securities perceived as risky. Still, gold futures find themselves in a bit of an uptrend, ending higher five out of the past six sessions. For the week, gold closed up 0.2% and logged its fourth straight weekly advance. But the metal failed to end above its 200-day moving average of $1,261.10 an ounce, according to FactSet data. Moving averages help to determine trends in an asset.