Gold futures settle higher Friday and mark sharpest weekly rise in 7 weeks, despite stock market rebound

Gold futures on Friday booked a solid gain for the session, helping the commodity mark its third straight weekly advance, as choppiness in stocks, a tepid U.S. dollar and rapidly receding yields proved a bullish cocktail for bullion. August gold traded $10.40, or 0.6%, higher to settle at $1,810.60 an ounce, with a weekly advance of 1.53%, based on last Friday's closing level. The weekly gain was the metal's third in a row and its sharpest since the week ended May 21, FactSet data show, underscoring an uptrend taking hold in the yellow metal. A so-called golden cross formed it gold's chart earlier in the week. A weaker dollar was likely the main catalyst for gold's gains. The dollar was down 0.2% on Friday and down to flat on the week. A weaker dollar can make assets priced in the currency comparatively more expensive to buyers using other monetary units. Contributing to the upswing for gold was a rally in bonds, which sent long-dated yields, notably the 10-year Treasury note and the 30-year bond . to lows not seen since February, diminishing the opportunity cost of owning nonyielding gold over bonds. The upbeat mood in haven gold came even as the Dow Jones Industrial Average , the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite Index were all staging a rebound from Thursday's yield-inspired selloff.

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