WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold extended gains on Friday as weak U.S. data stirred fresh debate over when the Fed may start cutting interest rates.
Spot gold edged up 0.1 percent to $2,363.45 per ounce, after having climbed more than 1 percent to their highest level in two weeks Thursday on bets for interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this year. U.S. gold futures were up 0.3 percent at $2,376.85.
The dollar held firm as investors reacted to mixed economic data and cautious comments from Fed officials on the rate path.
On Thursday, data showed a slight decline in jobless claims last week, sluggish homebuilding in May and a drop in a business outlook survey within the Philadelphia Federal Reserve District.
U.S. S&P Global flash manufacturing PMI for June, U.S. Consumer Board's leading index for May and U.S. existing homes sales for May are slated for release later in the New York session.
FOMC member Thomas Barkin is set to speak later in the session.
In a discussion at the 2024 Michigan Bankers Association Convention on Thursday, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari noted that it will probably take a year or two to get inflation back to the central bank's 2 percent target.
Former Fed Bank of St Louis president James Bullard said he expects the pace of U.S. monetary policy easing to be slow.
Earlier today, flash PMI reports for June from various European economies and U.K. painted a sluggish picture of regional economies.
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