Gold is set for a first weekly gain in four, up 0.1% this week
Bengaluru — Gold prices edged lower on Friday, as a resilient dollar pressured the safe-haven metal, though support from a dip in US bond yields and equities kept the metal above the key $1,750/oz mark.
“The gold market is starting to realise the Fed may not be as hawkish as priced in for the speed of tapering and subsequent rate hikes, especially with recent changes in the FOMC [Federal Open Market Committee]," said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, referring to the recent retirement of two US Federal Reserve policymakers.
Reduced central bank stimulus and interest rate hikes tend to push government bond yields up, in turn translating into a higher opportunity cost for gold.