Gold prices inched up on the back of a weak American dollar on Friday, but elevated U.S. Treasury yields set the shiny yellow metal on track for its biggest weekly decline in over a month as traders braced for sooner-than-anticipated U.S. rate hikes.
Spot gold rose 0.2% to $1,792.13 U.S. per ounce early Friday morning, trading in a narrow $7 range, and was on course for a weekly drop of about 2%, the biggest since the week of Nov. 26. U.S. gold futures rose 0.2% to $1,792.50.
Providing some respite to bullion, the greenback retreated slightly on Friday but was still on course to gain over the week
While a dollar decides how cheap or expensive gold gets for buyers holding other currencies, the metal is also highly sensitive to rising U.S. interest rates, which increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.
Spot silver was little changed at $22.16 U.S. per ounce, platinum rose 0.5% to $969.01 U.S. per ounce and palladium rose 1.7% to $1,905.84 U.S. per ounce.
