9th December 2017

 Gold limped to a lower finish on Friday, ending at a four-month low and on track for its biggest weekly decline since May. Stronger-than-expected US employment numbers pressured it lower as the payroll numbers steadied the dollar. However, we did not see a huge rally; the greenback ended up against the yen (at 113.52), but finished flat against both the Euro (117.7) and sterling (133.38).The general dollar index was up by only .1%. The employment numbers did trigger a rally in the US equity markets; the Dow rose by 118 points, while the S&P-500 gained 14; the Nasdaq Composite added 27 points. Also helping sentiment in equities, was news that President Trump signed legislation to fund the federal government for two more weeks while Congress negotiated a longer-term budget deal.