Commodities mostly fell in thin trading on Friday as euphoria from the eurozone debt deal faded, and investors reweighed their outlook after big weekly price gains in metals and oil. Volume in US gold and crude oil futures were at least a third below their monthly average, despite gold prices rising their most in a week since 2009 and oil notching its biggest weekly gain since February.
Gold prices were little changed for early on Friday, with physical bullion at slightly above $1,741 an ounce versus the near $1,744 level in New York late on Thursday. For the week, gold was up more than 6 percent - its largest weekly gain since February 2009.
After rallying with few stops through the last two months to hit record highs above $1,900, bullion prices stumbled early in October, falling to a three-month low below $1,550. Analysts said gold could make a comeback as a safe-haven if the eurozone or US economy took a turn for the worse. "It's underperforming right now, which is not surprising us at all," Commerzbank analyst Eugen Weinberg said, referring to the drag on gold caused by uncertainties over Europe.