(RTTNews) – Gold held steady on Friday and was on track for a second weekly gain on eased concerns over Federal Reserve rate path.
Spot gold was little changed at $4,353.73 an ounce due to profit taking after reaching a 10-week high earlier in the week. U.S. gold futures were down 0.3 percent at $4,408.72.
The dollar nudged lower as signs of slowing U.S. inflation and a retreat in oil prices raised optimism that the U.S. Federal Reserve would hold interest rates steady next month.
Thursday’s U.S. producer price reading came in flat in July compared with expectations for a 0.2 percent increase. On an annual basis, it slowed to 4.7 percent from 5.5 percent in June, easing concerns about imminent Fed rate hikes.
A day before, the July CPI print came in line with consensus expectations, with headline inflation decelerating to 3.4 percent year-on-year from 3.5 percent in June.
U.S. retail sales and consumer sentiment readings will be in the spotlight later today.
On the geopolitical front, talks between Washington and Tehran to end the Middle East conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz remained deadlocked.
The United States indicated that it would maintain a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely and would ratchet up economic pressure on Tehran amid stalemate in talks.
The United Arab Emirates has condemned Iran for attacking two ships linked to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) in the Strait of Hormuz, adding that the situation was “brought under control.”
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