A weaker American dollar helped to push up gold on Friday, putting the shiny yellow metal on track for a third straight weekly increase. However, gains were capped by profit-taking on long positions.
Mid-morning Friday, spot gold edged 0.2% higher at $1,197.61 U.S. an ounce, up 2% on the week.
But the metal was unable to maintain a seven-week high of $1,206.98 U.S. touched in the previous session after President-elect Donald Trump had failed to elaborate on U.S. fiscal stimulus plans at a chaotic news conference, triggering demand for safe-haven gold.
Gold has risen 6.5% since its mid-December low.
The U.S. dollar, which hit a five-week low on Thursday after Trump's pre-inaugural news conference, weakened 0.2% against a basket of currencies, making gold cheaper for non-U.S. investors.
Investors were looking ahead to Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, when he is expected to provide detail on the infrastructure and spending plans that have driven a rally in U.S. assets.
Among other precious metals, spot silver was flat at $16.77 U.S. moving into the trading day Friday, having reached its highest in almost a month at $16.92 in the previous session. The metal has gained 1.8% this week.
Platinum was down 0.5% at $979.70 U.S. It touched a two-month high of $990.10 U.S. the previous day.
Palladium fell by 1.4% to $746.00 U.S.
