WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold inched lower on Friday as rising risk aversion in financial markets pushed investors towards dollar safety.
Spot gold dipped 0.4 percent to $1,790.06 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were down 0.2 percent at 41,789.20.
The dollar index climbed to levels not seen since July 2020 amid concerns over higher interest rates and rising geopolitical tensions in Ukraine.
The promise of an aggressive Fed rate rise campaign to combat persistently high inflation also boosted demand for the dollar.
Traders in the fed funds futures market are currently pricing in nearly five rate hikes this year, staring with the March meeting, in the wake of Fed Chair Jerome Powell's hawkish remarks on Wednesday.
Powell said there is 'quite a bit of room to raise interest rates without threatening the labor market that is by so many measures historically tight.'
In economic releases, U.S. personal income and spending data for December and University of Michigan's final consumer sentiment index for January will be featured in the New York session.
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