Gold edged down on Friday as the dollar regained strength on Moody's warning to downgrade Spain, while investors continued to watch US debt ceiling talks after Republicans delayed a vote on a debt plan. Spot gold lost 0.2 percent to $1,613.46 an ounce by 0627 GMT, on course for a weekly rise of around 0.9 percent. It was headed for a monthly gain of nearly 8 percent.
US gold was flat at $1,613.60. The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust, said its holdings rose 1.5 percent from a day earlier to a six-month high of 1,262.98 tonnes by July 28. Spot silver fell 0.4 percent to $39.51 an ounce, off a more than two-month high of $41.42 hit this week. It was set to rise nearly 14 percent in July, its best month since April. But on the weekly chart, silver lagged behind gold, with a 1.3 percent drop. US silver lost 0.6 percent to $39.55.