2020.10.1618:39:00UTC+00Gold Futures Settle Slightly Lower

Gold prices edged lower on Friday and the most active gold futures contracts posted their first weekly loss in three, amid waning stimulus hopes, and stronger equity markets.

The dollar's weakness limited gold's downside. The dollar index, which fell to 93.53 early on in the day, recovered some lost ground subsequently and was last seen hovering around 93.70, down 0.17% from previous close.

Equity markets moved higher amid optimism about a potential coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer.

Gold futures for December ended down $2.50 or about 0.1% at $1,906.40 an ounce.

For the week, gold futures shed nearly 1%, recording their first drop in three weeks.

Silver futures for December ended higher by $0.181 at $24.405 an ounce, while Copper futures for December settled at $3.0675 per pound, down $0.0180 from previous close.

On the stimulus front, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell rejected the push for higher coronavirus stimulus deal, hours after President Trump told FOX Business he was willing to raise his spending offer above the White House's current $1.8 trillion proposal.

On the Covid-19 front, new coronavirus infections are surging rapidly in Europe, with several countries seeing steep spikes in new cases.

London will enter a tighter Covid-19 lockdown from midnight today, while a nighttime curfew will take effect in some French cities starting Saturday.

The daily rise in infections surged past 7,000 for the first time ever in Germany, smashing the previous record set just the day before.

In U.S. economic news, a report from the Commerce Department said retail sales spiked by 1.9% in September after rising by 0.6% in August. Economists had expected retail sales to climb by 0.7%.

Closely watched core retail sales, which exclude automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services, jumped by 1.4% in September after dipping by 0.3% in August.

The University of Michigan released a report showing a bigger than expected improvement in consumer sentiment in the month of October. The report said the consumer sentiment index rose to 81.2 in October from the final September reading of 80.4. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 80.5.