Gold is heading for its best week in 5 months with weak dollar

Gold prices rose on Friday as the dollar and bond yields continued to decline in the wake of US economic data, setting the yellow metal on course for its best week in nearly five months.

By 0616 GMT, gold in spot transactions increased 0.6 percent to $ 1766.08 an ounce. It has risen about 2.3 percent since the start of the week, its best performance since early March.

US gold futures rose 0.7 percent to $1,780.70.

Despite the good weekly performance of gold, it is still on track to record the fourth consecutive monthly decline, which is the worst series of monthly losses since November 2020.

For most of July, the dollar hovered around 20-year highs, undermining demand for gold priced in US currency among holders of other currencies.

Also affecting gold prices, major central banks adopted a tough approach of raising interest rates and tightening monetary policy in their attempt to combat inflation, as well as the strong performance of US Treasury yields earlier in July.

Higher interest rates and bond yields increase the opportunity cost of holding gold. But US 10-year Treasury yields fell on Friday.

The US economy unexpectedly contracted in the second quarter, which raised the risks of an economic slowdown, contributing to a more than one percent jump in the price of safe-haven gold on Thursday.

As for other precious metals, silver increased in spot transactions by one percent to $ 20.18 an ounce, while platinum rose 1.5 percent to $ 901.08.

Palladium fell 1.5 percent to $2,046.16, but has risen by about 5.8 percent this month, its best performance since February.