Gold & Silver Finish Week Lower, Dollar Rallies for 10th Consecutive Day

On Friday, gold (NYSEARCA:GLD) futures for June delivery fell $11.50 to settle at $1,584 per ounce, its lowest close of the year. Meanwhile, silver (NYSEARCA:SLV) futures declined 29 cents to close at $28.90.

Both precious metals finished the week lower as the U.S. dollar climbed higher for its tenth consecutive day, the longest winning streak for the greenback since last August. The dollar index, which compares the U.S. dollar against a basket of six other fiat currencies, reached as high as 80.34 today after U.S. consumer sentiment unexpectedly increased.

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The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s preliminary May reading on consumer sentiment came in at 77.8, compared to 76.4 in April. The figure topped estimates of 76.2 and was the highest reading since January 2008.

In afternoon trading, the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEARCA:GLD) and the iShares Silver Trust (NYSEARCA:SLV) both declined about .80 percent. Gold miners (NYSEARCA:GDX) such as Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) and Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) fell more than 1 percent. Silver investments such as Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) and First Majestic (NYSE:AG) declined .47 percent and .07 percent, respectively.

The highlight of the week came from the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong government. New data showed that gold shipments from Hong Kong to Mainland China surged to 135,529 kilograms (135.5 tonnes) in the first-quarter, compared to only 19,729 kilograms (19.7 tonnes) in the same period last year. Shipments in March alone increased 59 percent from February.

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Disclosure: Long EXK, AG, HL, PHYS