WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold prices advanced on Friday, extending gains from previous sessions, as investors continued to bet on an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve sometime soon.
Several central banks across the globe are also expected to announce additional stimulus to revive growth.
An escalation in geopolitical tensions contributed as well to the yellow metal's uptick.
The dollar's extended weakness - the dollar index dropped to a low of 96.24 today - against major rivals supported gold prices.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note drifted below 2% for the first time since November 2016 in the wake of dovish shift in Fed and ECB policy.
Gold futures recorded their fist close above $1,400 an ounce in over five-and-a-haf years, despite seeing a somewhat choppy session today.
Gold futures for August ended up $3.20, or 0.2%, at $1,400.10 an ounce, after rising to a high of $1,415.40 an ounce in the session.
During the session, gold futures dropped to a low of $1,386.10 an ounce, before edging higher.
On Thursday, gold futures for August ended up $48.10, or about 3.6%, at $1,396.90, recording the biggest single-session gains in three years for an active contract.
For the week, gold futures gained 4.1%.
Silver futures for July ended down $0.202, at $15.290 an ounce, while Copper futures for July settled at $2.7045 per pound, down $0.0075 from previous close.
According to a report in the New York Times, U.S. President Donald Trump had approved targeted military strikes against Iran in retaliation for shooting down a U.S. drone, and then backed out.
Iran seems not keen on peace talks, Reuters reported, citing Iranian officials that Trump had passed a message to Tehran via Oman warning that an attack on Iran was imminent.
'He gave a short period of time to get our response but Iran's immediate response was that it is up to Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei to decide about this issue,' an anonymous Iranian official told the news agency.
On the trade front, the focus is on next week's G20 summit in Japan, where Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are due to meet in an effort to revive trade talks. The meeting of the two presidents could have significant impact on the perception of the likelihood for an eventual U.S.-China trade deal.
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