By Kavya Guduru
(Reuters) – Gold prices eased on Friday as the U.S. dollar regained some ground, but expectations of less aggressive interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve set bullion up for a small weekly gain.
Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,753.06 per ounce by 1044 GMT, coming off a one-week high hit earlier in the session. Bullion was up 0.2% this week so far.
U.S. gold futures rose 0.5% to $1,753.80.
The dollar firmed 0.1%, making greenback-priced gold more expensive for overseas buyers. The currency was headed for a weekly loss, however. [USD/]
Minutes from the Fed’s November meeting have potentially given gold an extra kick higher, enabling it to really push on from here if the data does allow for it, said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA.
Gold seems to have stabilized somewhere in this recent range that it has established between $1,730 and $1,780, Erlam added.
A “substantial majority” of Fed policymakers agreed it would “likely soon be appropriate” to slow the pace of rate hikes, the readout of the Nov. 1-2 meeting showed on Wednesday.
Most traders expect a 50 bps rate increase at the Fed’s December meeting.
However, Kinesis Money analyst Rupert Rowling said in a note gold is now likely to continue trading sideways as investors position themselves for the middle week of December, which will first see the latest U.S. inflation figures followed by the Fed’s interest rate decision.
This year’s high interest rates have kept a leash on non-yielding gold’s traditional status as a hedge against inflation and other uncertainties.
Silver dropped 0.7% to $21.35, but was up about 2.1% for the week. Spot platinum eased 0.1% to $986.88 per ounce. Palladium shed 0.3% to $1,875.13, and was set for a weekly loss.
(Reporting by Kavya Guduru in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
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