Gold struggled for gains Friday as strength in equities attracted investors to cash in some of the previous day's gains, for its biggest weekly rise in five weeks as the Federal Reserve remained cautious on U.S. interest rate increases.
Spot gold was nearly flat at $1,240.58 U.S. an ounce. U.S. gold futures for June delivery settled up 0.5% at $1,243.80 U.S. an ounce and last traded up 0.4% at $1,242.50 U.S.
Spot prices are up 1.4%this week, chiefly because of Thursday's 1.5 % rally.
The metal has been restricted in a narrow range by anxiety about the path the U.S. central bank will take to raising interest rates.
In other precious metals, silver futures were up 1.4%at $15.37 U.S. an ounce, platinum futures gained 1.5% to $968.70 U.S. and palladium contracts rose nearly 1% to $539.10 U.S.
