Prices for gold inched lower on Friday and were headed for the first weekly decline in three weeks as expectations of higher U.S. interest rates and easing political tensions on the Korean Peninsula and Syria weighed on demand for the safe-haven metal.
Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,344.10 U.S. an ounce early Friday morning, while U.S. gold futures fell 0.2% to $1,346.30 per ounce. Spot gold fell 0.2% on the week.
Market jitters over Western missile strikes in Syria that provided some support to gold earlier in the week eased, while the geopolitical outlook on the Korean Peninsula brightened as U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he hoped a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would be successful.
Investors were also relieved that no new U.S. demands on trade came out of a summit between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Trump.
Also, the relatively optimistic backdrop in the United States should support the Federal Reserve in raising interest rates at least twice more this year, traders and analysts have said.
Among other precious metals, spot silver was down 0.2% at $17.18 U.S., after hitting over 2-1/2-month high at $17.35 U.S. in the previous session.
Platinum rose 0.2% to $934.40 U.S. It touched an over three-week high at $953.50 U.S. in the previous session.
Palladium slipped 0.2% to $1,023.28 U.S., having hit a one-and-a-half-month high of $1,057.20 U.S. on Thursday.
