Gold futures ended lower on Friday, but after topping $2,000 an ounce on an intraday basis a handful of times this month, prices scored gains for the month, as well as the quarter. The precious metal has benefited this quarter from expectations that Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes might soon come to an end, while a crisis of confidence in U.S. regional banks and some major European lenders helped bolster the yellow metal thanks to safe-haven flows.
Price action
The June gold contract
GC00,
-0.43%
GCM23,
-0.43%
declined by $11.50, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,986.20 per ounce on Comex after trading as high as $2,005.50. Prices, based on the most active contracts, ended 8.1% higher for the month and saw an 8.8% rise for the quarter, after settling Thursday at their highest since March 10, 2022, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
Silver for May delivery
SI00,
+0.88%
SIK23,
+0.88%
rose 17 cents, or 0.7%, to $24.156 per ounce, settling nearly 15% higher for the month and 0.5% higher for the quarter.
Palladium for June delivery
PAM23,
+0.13%
edged up by $4.40, or 0.3%, to $1,468 per ounce, but down more than 18% for the quarter, while platinum for July
PLN23,
+0.51 …