PRECIOUS-Gold set for weekly gain on smaller U.S. rate-hike bets

Shafaq News/ Gold prices ticked higher on Friday and were on track for a fourth consecutive weekly gain, supported by a weaker dollar and expectations of slower interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Spot gold XAU= was up 0.1% at $1,898.57 per ounce, as of 0234 GMT. Prices gained 1.8% so far this week.

U.S. gold futures GCv1 rose 0.1% to $1,899.60.

The dollar index .DXY was on track for worst week since Nov. 11, 2022. A weaker greenback makes bullion more attractive to overseas buyers.

Data on Thursday showed that U.S consumer prices fell for the first time in more than 2-1/2 years in December, offering hope that inflation was now on a sustained downward trend.

"Prices are facing some resistance around the $1,900 level, so maybe it won't just continue pushing higher, there might be some selling at these levels."

Gold is seen as an inflation hedge, but higher interest rates increase the opportunity cost of holding the asset.

Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia leader Patrick Harker said on Thursday that while the central bank needs to raise rates more to cool off inflation, it can probably do so at a much slower pace. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank president Raphael Bostic said the inflation data may allow the Fed to scale back to quarter-point rate hikes at its upcoming meeting.

The Fed had raised rates by 75 basis points (bps) four times last year, before slowing to a 50 bps increase in December.

Spot silver XAG= edged 0.1% higher to $23.79, platinum XPT= gained 0.1% to $1,068.79 while palladium XPD= slipped 0.6% to $1,780.91. All three metals were headed for a weekly drop.

Source: Reuters