REUTERS
Gold steadied on Friday, but was set for a weekly decline as the dollar climbed to a near one-month high, while investors awaited key US inflation data to assess the Federal Reserve's monetary policy moving forward.
Spot gold was steady at $5,000.40 per ounce, as of 0530 GMT, and was down about 1% for the week so far. US gold futures for April delivery were up 0.4% at $5,019.10.
"Precious metals are consolidating with a slight downward bias at this time... We've seen the dollar picking up from its lows, and that led to a bit of pressure in precious metals," said GoldSilver Central Managing Director Brian Lan.
The Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) data, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, for December is now in focus for clues on US monetary policy.
Goldman Sachs said in a note that under the base case scenario, it expects central bank buying to re-accelerate, while private investors will add exposure only in response to Fed rate cuts, driving gold higher to $5,400/troy ounce by end-2026.
It also said it continues to see the medium-term trajectory for gold prices as upward, potentially with elevated volatility.
Elsewhere, spot silver edged 0.2% higher to $78.47 per ounce. Spot platinum ticked up 0.1% to $2,071.63 per ounce, while palladium gained 0.1% to $1,684.59.