Gold rose on Friday but remained near its weakest level in 10-1/2 months as an interest rate increase by the US Federal Reserve and hints of further hikes in 2017 dampened the safe- haven appeal of the metal. Spot gold was up 0.5 percent at $1,134.18 an ounce by 0726 GMT. In the previous session, it hit its weakest since February 2 at $1,122.35.
The metal was down more than 2 percent for the week, and is on track for its sixth consecutive weekly loss. US gold futures climbed 0.5 percent to $1,135.90 an ounce, after dropping nearly 3 percent in the previous session. "The nature of recent gold selling implies fresh shorting as well as liquidation," said HSBC analyst James Steel. Holdings of the SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, which are down over 10 percent since November, fell 0.84 percent to 842.33 tonnes on Thursday.