Gold prices steadied on Friday and oil was higher.
In New York spot and gold futures prices finished under $US1250 an ounce.
Spot gold finished at $US1245.85 an ounce, down from Thursday’s $US1,248.27 an ounce.
It fell to $US1236.55 an ounce in trading Friday.
Comex December gold eased $US4.40 to $US1,246.50 an ounce after trading down to a 10 day low of just under $US1238 an ounce.
Earlier this week, gold touched $US1,259.30, the highest closing price on record.
Despite that, gold still lost 0.4% over the week.
The yen’s weakness against the dollar also hurt gold.
Both the euro and dollar rose against the yen, as strong import data from China raised optimism about global economic growth.
China’s imports rose sharply last month, boding well for a strengthening of domestic demand in an economy that has become a major driver of global growth.
Figures on Saturday showing a rise in industrial production and a rise in Chinese consumer price inflation will no doubt be used by gold bulls to boost their case for another price run this week.
A gold sale late Thursday by the International Monetary Fund helped underpin the metal Friday.
The IMF said that it sold 10 tonnes of gold to the central bank of Bangladesh this week, its first sale after a 10-month break.
Meanwhile oil prices rose on Friday after the International Energy Agency raised its forecast for global oil demand for this year and after the closure of a key pipeline carrying crude to the US from Canada.
Nymex crude (WTI) jumped $US2.20 to $US76.45 a barrel in New York.
In London, Brent North Sea crude for October delivery climbed 69c to $US78.16.
The International Energy Agency on Friday raised its overall forecast for 2010 by 50,000 barrels a day – thanks mainly to higher-than-expected demand in North America and the advanced economies in Asia.
The increases more than offset a lowering of forecast overall demand from non-OECD countries and notably the Middle East and Asia by 30,000 barrels a day.
Demand in China will continue to grow strongly, but at a sharply slower pace, the IEA said.
We saw at the weekend that Chinese imports so far this year are up more than 20% on a year ago. China is the fastest growing market for oil around the world.
The closure of a major pipeline taking Canadian crude into the US mid-West following a leak added to the upward pressure on prices.
The pipeline provides 670,000 barrels of crude a day or around a third of Canadian oil exports to the US.
Copper fell 4c, or 1.1%, to $US3.41 a pound.
It fell 2.7% last week.
