Gold prices hit a two-week low on Friday, set for their biggest weekly loss in nearly eight months, as interest rate cut expectations started to dwindle after a hawkish tone in the U.S. Federal Reserve minutes.
Spot gold listed at $2,330.19 U.S. per ounce overnight Friday, after hitting its lowest since May 9 earlier. Bullion hit a record high of $2,449.89 on Monday, but has fallen about 5% since then.
U.S. gold futures eased 0.3% at $2,330.80.
Bullion is known as an inflation hedge but higher rates increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold.
The gold/silver ratio has now dropped, so momentum trends might switch off to favor gold again.
Spot silver rose 0.4% to $30.21 U.S.
Platinum edged 0.1% higher to $1,019.90 U.S. and palladium gained 0.3% to $971.80 U.S. All three metals were headed for weekly losses.
