Gold Prices Surrender Gains

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Gold prices were slightly lower Friday as the yellow metal gave back small gains from the previous trading session.

Gold for December delivery was sinking $9 to $1,761.60 an ounce at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The gold price traded as high as $1,775 and as low as $1,760.50, while the spot price was shedding $6.50, according to Kitco's gold index.

"Consolidation after close to a [gain] from $1,550 to $1,800 level quickly after the announcement of QE3," said Jeb Handwerger, editor of GoldStockTrades.com.

Silver prices for December delivery were losing 35 cents to $33.73, while the U.S. dollar index was down 0.10% to $79.71.

Handwerger thinks investors may be waiting for more clarity in the presidential election before building new positions in the yellow metal.

Easing policies are unlikely to change significantly, even if Mitt Romney wins the election. The one wrench, of course, would be if Romney's pledge to remove Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke proved not to be a bluff. Even then, it's tough to assume a new chairman would reverse the open-ended securities purchasing program that a strong majority of central bankers agreed on.

Questions were also lingering Friday as to whether Spain would ask for a bailout, which has been a lingering issue for weeks.

Gold mining stocks were mostly lower Friday. Shares of NovaGold Resources (NG) were dropping 2.7%, while shares of Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM) were down 1.9%

Among other mining stocks, Barrick Gold (ABX) was selling off 1.8%, and Kinross Gold (KGC) was decreasing 1.1%.

Gold ETF iShares Gold Trust (IAU) was down 0.43%.

-- Written by Joe Deaux in New York.

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