Gold prices were headed to mark their biggest weekly drop in six on Friday, driven by a robust dollar and higher bond yields as U.S. central bankers pushed back against expectations of early rate cuts amid signs of resilience in the economy.
Spot gold was little changed at $2,022.07 per ounce early Friday morning, but has fallen 1.3% so far in the week.
U.S. gold futures rose 0.1% to $2,024.10.
Bullion was pressured as traders repriced their rate-cut expectations, following better than expected data and hawkish Fed speakers, said one expert.
Markets were betting on 139 basis points (bps) of Fed rate cuts this year, down from 150 bps a week earlier, according to one interest rate probability app.
The odds of a Fed rate cut in March have dropped to 54% from about 71% last week, according to IRPR.
Lower interest rates decrease the opportunity cost of holding bullion.
Spot silver fell 0.3% to $22.68 per ounce, platinum climbed 0.2% to $909.06, and palladium gained 0.7% to $944.63.
