WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold drifted lower on Friday but was on track for a weekly gain on Fed rate cut optimism.
Spot gold dipped half a percent to $2,69.06 per ounce but was up nearly 1 percent for the week, after having hit a five-week high in the previous session. U.S. gold futures were down 0.7 percent at $2,689.41.
Traders remain focused on the Fed's Dec. 17-18 meeting. The U.S. central bank is expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points on Dec. 18, but there is much uncertainty regarding outlook for 2025 due to stubborn inflation.
Data showed on Thursday that U.S. producer prices increased by the most in five months in November and weekly jobless claims unexpectedly rose last week.
The annual rate of producer price growth accelerated to 3.0 percent in November from an upwardly revised 2.6 percent in October, fuelling concerns about how quickly the central bank will cut rates early next year.
Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2024 AFX News
