Gold ends lower, still flirting with $1,200 level

Gold prices edged down Wednesday in muted, pre-Thanksgiving trade, catching their breath after a solid advance so far this month.

December gold GCZ4, -0.73% finished down 50 cents, or less than 0.1%, at $1,196.60 an ounce, continuing to hold below the key $1,200 level. It’s up 2.1% in the month to date, having dipped just 0.1% so far in this holiday-shortened week. Meanwhile, December silver SIZ4, -2.07%  settled unchanged at $16.55 an ounce.