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Gold prices rose on Friday, supported by concerns over an increase in Covid-19 infections, but the strength of the dollar kept the yellow metal on track to record the second consecutive weekly decline.
And at 6:55 a.m. GMT, gold in spot transactions rose 0.2% to $ 1,756.61 an ounce.
And gold is down 0.4% over the week, mainly due to its steep drop on Monday, after strong US jobs data renewed bets the Federal Reserve would cut early. stimulus measures.
US futures rose 0.5% to $ 1,759.70.
“The ongoing turbulence caused by Covid means that it is very likely that central banks around the world will continue to provide stimulus measures, which will ultimately fuel inflation and increase gold prices in the long run,” said Michael Langford, director of AirGuide business consulting.
“In the near term, we expect gold to consolidate between $ 1,750 and $ 1,800,” he added.
And Asian markets weakened today, Friday, as they were pressured by the fallout from heavy infections with the mutated Delta strain of the Corona virus in several countries in the region.
Meanwhile, the dollar remained near a four-month high after data showed U.S. producer prices posted their biggest annual increase in more than a decade.
This follows weak consumer price data in the United States, which helped gold rise 1.3% on Wednesday, but the data prompted investors to seek more clues from the share. of the Federal Reserve on its monetary policy plans.
Gold is seen as a hedge against inflation, but the hike in interest rates by the US Federal Reserve will increase the opportunity cost of holding the unproductive yellow metal while strengthening the dollar.
As for other precious metals, silver gained 0.7% to $ 23.32 an ounce, but is down about 4% for the week.
Platinum rose 0.1% to $ 1,019.64 and is heading towards recording its best weekly performance since June.
Palladium came in at $ 2,624.81.
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