Gold on Friday held near a more-than-one-month peak scaled in the previous session, with bullion set for a weekly gain of over 1%, as a weakness in the dollar and Treasury yields offered support along with a surprise jump in U.S. jobless claims.
Spot gold was steady at $1,755.91 U.S. per ounce overnight, having hit a high since March 1 at $1,758.45 an ounce on Thursday.
The metal has gained nearly 1.5% for the week so far, after posting losses in the previous two weeks.
It was a different story, however, on gold futures, which fell 0.1% on Friday to $1,756.20 U.S. per ounce.
The U.S. dollar fell to a two-week low against a basket of currencies after the number of Americans filing new unemployment claims increased for the second straight week, last week.
U.S. Treasury yields fell on Thursday, pressured by fresh dovish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Powell noted that an expected rise in prices this year is likely to be temporary, and warned that an uptick in COVID-19 cases could slow the recovery.
The U.S. central bank intends to maintain its ultra-easy stance even though data suggest the economy revving up.
Silver stood unchanged at $25.45 U.S. an ounce and was set for biggest weekly gain in four.
Palladium was down 0.2% to $2,618.51 U.S. Platinum fell 0.3% to $1,225.95 U.S. but was set for its second straight weekly gain.
