Gold prices were unchanged at its opening at 9.22am on Saturday.
The Gold Traders Association announced the buying price at 18,950 baht and the selling price at 19,050 baht per baht-weight for gold bars.
The buying price for gold ornaments was 18,677.12 while their selling price was 19,450 baht per baht-weight.
The prices were adjusted seven times on Friday, ending up 50 baht from Thursday's close.
In world markets, gold prices fell for a third day as gains for the US economy cut demand for the metal as a haven, Bloomberg reported from New York on Saturday.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary December index of consumer sentiment increased to 93.8 from 88.8 last month. That beat economists’ projections. Bullion also declined today as crude futures retreated, cutting demand for gold as a hedge against rising consumer costs.
Futures slumped to a four-year low in November as US growth accelerated, equities rallied and the dollar climbed. Gains for the labor markets are increasing speculation that the Federal Reserve is getting closer to raising interest rates, reducing the allure of gold, which generally offers investors returns through increasing prices.
“The engine of the US market is continuing to improve, and that’s the biggest bear for gold,” Miguel Perez-Santalla, a sales and marketing manager at Heraeus Metals New York, said in a telephone interview. “The economy is booming. Jobs are starting to increase, and for the first time I think the US is starting to get off the ground.”
Gold futures for February delivery dropped 0.3% to settle at $1,222.50 an ounce at 1.53pm on the Comex in New York. Prices touched $1,130.40 on Nov 7, the lowest since 2010.
The US central bank will gather Dec 16-17 as policy makers debate the timing of the first interest-rate increase in eight years.
Futures climbed 70% from December 2008 to June 2011 as the Fed bought debt and held borrowing costs near zero percent in a bid to shore up economic growth. The metal tumbled 28% last year as some investors lost faith in the metal as a store of value.
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