Gold prices rose on Friday but were headed for a weekly decline as prospects for further interest rate hikes dented their appeal, as traders awaited the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, due later in the day.
At 0909 GMT, spot gold was up 0.3 percent at $1,836.18 an ounce, down more than 1 percent on the week. U.S. gold futures were up 0.2 percent at $1,838.70.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggested this week that higher and possibly faster rate hikes will be needed to curb inflation.
Gold prices have retreated this week on expectations of aggressive rate hikes following Powell’s remarks, said Jigar Trivedi, an analyst at Mumbai-based Reliance Securities.
“However, the yellow metal It has strong technical support near $1,810-$1,790 an ounce and we could see a rebound to $1,875 next week,” he said.
Investors’ focus is now shifting to U.S. nonfarm payrolls data, due at 1330 GMT, for more clues on the Fed’s tightening path. According to economists polled by Reuters, the report is expected to show an increase of 205,000 in February.
*The Dollar Index It fell 0.1%, but was heading for a weekly advance. A stronger U.S. currency tends to make gold a less attractive bet.
In other precious metals, silver spot gained 0.2 percent to $20.12 an ounce, on track for a weekly decline of more than 5 percent; the platinum it was down 0.7% at $937.91, on track for its biggest weekly plunge since November 2022; and the palladium It lost 1 percent to $1,375.13.
