Gold prices moved little in Asian trade on Friday, as strong U.S. retail sales data boosted the dollar and also buoyed risk appetite, undermining demand for safe havens.
The yellow metal was also set for mild weekly losses, as investors grew increasingly convinced that the Federal Reserve will not cut interest rates any time soon. Uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs also drove only limited demand for safe havens.
Platinum was an outlier among metal prices this week, and was set for strong gains after clearing a closely watched resistance level. The white metal, along with silver, has vastly outpaced gold in recent months.
Spot gold steadied at $3,339.61 an ounce, while gold futures for September were flat at $3,344.62/oz by 01:16 ET (05:16 GMT).
Gold heads for mild weekly decline as risk appetite picks up, dollar weighs
Spot gold was trading down about 0.5% this week, after clocking mild gains for the past two weeks.
The yellow metal was pressured by stalling safe haven demand, as risk appetite was boosted by a swathe of positive U.S. corporate earnings and economic prints.
Stronger-than-expected retail sales data for June also highlighted resilience in the U.S. economy, while boosting the dollar on bets that the Fed will not need to cut rates later this month.
Waning rate cut bets were also furthered by sticky inflation data for June, putting the dollar on course for a 0.7% rise this week, its second straight week of gains.
