Gold set for weekly gains

Singapore (Mar 19)  Gold edged up on Friday with the market on track to end the week on a firmer note as the dollar hovered near its lowest in five months, pressured by the Federal Reserve's plan to make fewer-than-expected interest rate hikes.

Spot gold gained around half a percent to $1,262.84 an ounce by 0249 GMT, while U.S. gold was little changed at $1,264.20 an ounce. Spot gold has risen 1.2 percent this week after closing down 0.9 percent in the previous week.  "This is reminiscent of market reacting to FOMC statement," said Daniel Ang, analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore. "Gold is finding support at $1,260, it is reluctant to go below that level and it is mainly due to weaker U.S. dollar."

The yen stood within reach of a 17-month high against the dollar early on Friday, with the Federal Reserve's cautious stance towards hiking interest rates continuing to take a toll on the greenback.

Source: International-TheNews