Gold is heading for its best weekly performance since mid-November

Gold prices rose on Friday, supported by the weakness of the dollar, and are preparing for the largest weekly gains since mid-November, as the global banking crisis prompted investors to turn to the metal, which is considered a safe haven.

And by 0313 GMT, gold in instant transactions rose 0.5 percent to $ 1928.08 an ounce. US gold futures rose 0.5 percent to $1,932.10.

Prices of the yellow metal have risen about 3.2 percent since the beginning of the week, heading to record a third consecutive weekly gain, supported by the demand for safe havens after the collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank in the largest banking failure since the 2008 financial crisis.

On Thursday, major US banks pumped $30 billion in deposits into the First Republic Bank to rescue it after it got stuck in the crisis. This came after Credit Suisse said it would borrow up to $54 billion from the Swiss National Bank to support liquidity after the consequences of the collapse reached it.

But the European Central Bank raised interest rates by 50 basis points on Thursday, as concerns about rising inflation outweighed concerns about a global banking crisis.

Federal Reserve officials are expected to continue their anti-inflation campaign by raising interest rates by 25 basis points at their policy meeting in March.

The opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion increases when interest rates increase.

The dollar index fell 0.2 percent, making gold more attractive to buyers who hold other currencies.

Among other precious metals, spot silver rose 0.9 percent to $21.89 an ounce, platinum rose 0.8 percent to $980.33, and palladium rose 0.9 percent to $1,443.80.

The three metals are heading for weekly gains, and silver is expected to post its best week since early December.