Oil and gold were pushed sideways and lower on Friday after the US dollar rose in the wake of talk on interest rates from Fed chair Janet Yellen and investors played safe ahead of the long weekend in the US for Memorial Day.
US oil prices fell about 2% on Friday in the wake of the higher dollar, but gold finished a few cents higher after a solid consumer inflation report for April showed inflation up 0.1% and 0.3% on a core basis.
Gold prices eased to settle slightly lower in New York, but lost ground overall.
For oil markets there were new worries that the US oil industry was close to ending its cutbacks in exploration and drilling.
Drillers cut the number of oil rigs in operation by just one last week, yet another sign that the six-month slump in activity was ending.
The number of rigs drilling for crude in US oilfields stood at 659 on Friday, compared with 1,528 a year ago.
It wouldn’t surprise if there are now weekly reports from services group Baker Hughes showing no more falls, and the occasional rise in rig use, especially in the US oil industry.
US West Texas type crude ended down $US1, or 1.7%, at $59.72. It rose 3 cents for the week though, extending its weekly gains for a 10th straight week.
But the rebound is now looking very weak.
In London, Brent style crude, the global oil price marker, lost $US1.17, or 1.8%, at $US65.37 a barrel. And it fell 2.1% over the week in a divergence from the US price.
Comex gold futures settled lower on Friday, for their first weekly loss this month as the US dollar firmed in late trading.
The price edged higher in after hours trading as investors squared positions ahead of the long weekend in the US.
Gold for June delivery on Comex lost 10 cents to settle at $US1,204 an ounce, while Comex July silver ended at $US17.051 an ounce, down 8.1 cents, or 0.5%.
Over the week, gold futures prices fell 1.7% after two consecutive weekly gains, while silver suffered a 2.9% loss for the week.
July copper lost 3.75 cents, or 1.3%, to $US2.811 a pound on Comex in New York, for a loss of 3.9% for the week.
