FX.co ★ Gold Moves Modestly Higher But Closes Lower For The Week

The price of gold moved modestly higher during trading on Friday, extending the rebound seen in the previous session, but still closed notably lower for the week.

Gold for February delivery rose $7.70 or 0.4 percent to $2,029.30 an ounce after climbing $15.10 or 0.8 percent to $2,021.60 an ounce on Thursday. Nonetheless, the precious metal still stumped by 1.1 for the holiday-shortened week.

The uptick in the price of gold came amid a modest decrease by the value of the U.S. dollar, with the U.S. dollar index slipping 0.2 percent to 103.32.

Gold came under pressure early in the week amid ongoing uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates, with economists suggesting recent economic data has reduced the likelihood of a rate cut in March.

"The yellow metal has been driven lower by slightly softer expectations for rate cuts this year and a lack of data that could turn things back in its favour," said Craig Erlam, OANDA Senior Market Analyst, UK & EMEA

He added, "The figures we've seen since the turn of the year have been fine but more than that is needed to maintain the enthusiasm markets ended 2023 with."