Gold edges up as dollar rally pauses; biggest weekly drop in six months

Gold prices ticked up on Friday as investors took advantage of an easing dollar to buy the metal after a steep sell-off sent bullion to a near two-month low in the last session and set it on track for its biggest weekly fall in six.

Spot gold rose 0.1 per cent 869.79 per ounce by 0938 GMT, while US gold futures were down 0.1 per cent at $1,875.00. "The fact that the US dollar is flat on the day is giving traders a bit of a reason to buy back into gold," David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK said.

While a huge amount of negativity was priced in here, investors likely will "err on the side of caution" on the pandemic and buy gold, Madden added. The dollar index rally's to a two-month high lost steam, making gold more attractive for holders of other currencies.

The dollar remained on course for its biggest weekly gains since early-April. Bullion was set to post its steepest weekly contraction since mid-August, falling 4.1 per cent. There is still "fatigue" in the market as gold has already priced in a lot of the favourable factors and there are a lot of investors already in the market, so it is unlikely that there will be many new ones, ABN Amro analyst Georgette Boele said.

But news that the Democrats were working on a $2.2 trillion package, after US Fed officials urged for more fiscal stimulus, offered some respite to investors' hopes. Gold is often considered as a hedge against inflation, currency debasement and economic uncertainty. In other metals, silver fell 0.3 per cent to $23.14 per ounce and platinum rose 0.9 per cent to $856.66. Both metals are on track for their biggest weekly falls since mid-March. Palladium edged 0.2 per cent down to $2,221.64 per ounce.