LONDON: Gold prices fell as much as 1.8% on Friday as a broader market sell-off weighed on the metal along with a firm dollar, while hopes for further stimulus from the US kept bullion on track for its first weekly gain in three.
Spot gold fell 1% to $1,851.50 per ounce by 10:10 a.m. EST (1510 GMT), retreating from a two-week high hit on Thursday. The metal was up 1.4% so far this week.
US gold futures fell 0.8% to $1,851.50.
“Regardless of the asset class everything from equities to agricultural to softs are selling off and a lot of emphasis is on whether the stimulus could be passed and whether the (COVID-19) vaccine rollout could be effective,” said Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures in Chicago.
The strength in the dollar was also weighing on bullion with benchmark US Treasury yields firm above 1%, Streible added.
US President Joe Biden has proposed a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan, though some Republicans expressed concerns over the amount.
Elsewhere, platinum fell 1.8% to $1,106.69 an ounce, having hit its highest since August 2016 on Thursday. It was set to post its second consecutive weekly gain, up 3.2%.
“As a result, the price differential to gold narrowed for a time to $720 per troy ounce.
The last time it was any lower was in February last year,” said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch in a note.
Silver fell 2.1% to $25.40 an ounce, but was up 2.7% so far this week. Palladium rose 0.2% to $2,366.23.
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