Gold is heading for gains for the third week in a row

Gold prices continued to gain for the third week in a row, Friday, July 21, supported by hopes that the US Federal Reserve will stop raising interest rates after its meeting this month.

And by 06:15 GMT, gold in instant transactions increased 0.1% to $ 1970.69 an ounce, up 0.7% so far this week. On Thursday, the yellow metal fell from its highest level in two months, with the dollar and bond yields rising on the back of data showing that the US labor market is stronger than expected.

US gold futures rose 0.1% to $1,972.80 an ounce.

Gold prices received support from expectations that the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates for the last time next week as part of its current cycle of monetary tightening. Most economists polled by Reuters expect the Fed to raise interest rates by 25 basis points at its meeting on July 25-26.

Lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold.

The dollar index fell 0.1%, but headed for a weekly rise, and US Treasury bond yields increased.

Among other precious metals, silver rose in spot transactions 0.3% to $24.82 an ounce, platinum increased 0.5% to $958.40 an ounce, and palladium rose 0.3% to $1281.61 an ounce.