NEW YORK: Gold prices rose more than 1% on Friday, on track for a weekly rise, as the dollar turned negative, with bullion getting support from reports of a potential debate amongst the US Federal Reserve officials about the pace of rate hikes.

Spot gold rose 1.5% to $1,652.19 per ounce by 1:15 p.m. ET (1715 GMT). US gold futures gained 1.3% to $1,658.60. “The Wall Street Journal article which mentions the pace of rate hikes is being given a lot of share of mind for (market)participants,” said Daniel Ghali, commodity strategist at TD Securities.

The WSJ reported that Fed officials are barrelling toward another interest-rate rise of 0.75 percentage point in November, while some have begun signalling their desire to slow down the pace of increases soon.

San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly on Friday said the central bank should avoid putting the US economy into an “unforced downturn” by over tightening, adding that the Fed is nearing a point where it should slow rate hikes. Gold is sensitive to rising interest rates, as these increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

Prices were now up about 0.6% for the week, after rebounding from their lowest level since end-September, touched earlier in the day. With gold hitting a low, people came in and started buying it, said Michael Matousek, head trader at US Global Investors.

The dollar index gave up earlier gains and slipped 0.8%, making gold less expensive for overseas investors. On the physical side, demand for gold in India picked up pace this week as some consumers bought into a retreat in domestic prices ahead of festivals.

Elsewhere, spot silver rose 2.5% to $19.13 per ounce, platinum rose 1.8% to $930.13 while palladium fell 2.6% to $2,004.25.