Gold prices made their way slightly higher on Friday as the American dollar slipped against major peers ahead of U.S. economic growth data which could shed light on the pace of rate hikes in the world's top economy.
Spot gold was up 0.1% at $1,223.96 U.S. an ounce early Friday morning. The precious metal was, however, on track for its third straight weekly decline.
U.S. gold futures for August delivery were 0.2%lower at $1,223.20 U.S. an ounce.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was down 0.02% at 94.732. Against the yen, the dollar was down 0.2% at 110.98.
A weaker dollar makes greenback-denominated gold cheaper for holders of other currencies.
Meanwhile, China's yuan weakened against the greenback, breaching the key 6.8-per-dollar level, dragged by a weaker midpoint and fears of further depreciation amid Sino-U.S. trade tensions.
Experts say a relatively strong greenback versus the yuan is limiting upside for gold.
Meanwhile, a strong reading in second-quarter U.S. economic growth could back the case for faster rate hikes.
Higher U.S. rates tend to boost the dollar and push bond yields up, denting the bullion's non-interest bearing appeal.
Among other precious metals, silver rose 0.4% at $15.43 U.S. an ounce but was headed for its seventh weekly decline.
Palladium gained 0.4% to $930.50 U.S. an ounce and was up over 4% for the week, in what analysts say could be its biggest weekly gain since the week of April 20.
Platinum was nearly unchanged at $822.75 U.S. an ounce.
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