Gold Futures Gain Nearly 3% For The Month

Gold futures settled higher on Friday on the back of a sharp decline in the U.S. dollar as weaker-than-expected data on U.S. economic growth gave the Federal Reserve more reason to move cautiously in its plans to hike interest rates. December gold rose $16.30, or 1.2%, to settle at $1,357.50 an ounce. Futures prices ended the month with a climb of roughly 2.8% from the settlement of the most-active contract on June 30, according to FactSet data. Prices have now posted gains in six out of the seven months so far this year.