BENGALURU-Gold prices rose on Friday as the dollar slipped, but were headed for their worst week in five and a half months as hopes of interest rate cuts by the US central bank tamed.
Spot gold rose 0.2 percent to $2,332.77 per ounce as the US dollar index slipped 0.4 percent , making gold relatively less expensive for other currency holders.
US gold futures settled 0.1 percent lower to $2,334.50.
Bullion hit a record high of $2,449.89 on Monday, but has shed more than $100 since then and is on track for a 3 percent drop this week, its worst weekly dip since early December.
“What we’ve always had was a little bit of a lack of interest from the Western investors on uncertainty over when the Fed will cut rates…once the Fed cuts rates, they would increase exposure again,” said Michael Widmer, Bank of America’s head of Metals Research.
Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting published this week showed the central bank’s path to 2 percent inflation could take longer than expected.
