Spot gold had gained by 0.4 percent to $1,301.58 per ounce, as of 0625 GMT, after shedding about 1 percent the day before. It was on track for a small weekly gain for a second consecutive week.
U.S. gold futures rose 0.5 percent to $1,301.40 an ounce.
· The dollar slipped 0.1 percent against major currencies, and was on track for its biggest weekly loss since early December.
· “The dollar has weakened and gold as a safe-haven asset has seen support from Brexit uncertainty. As long as gold can hold the $1,290level, it can reach the first level of $1,302 and then $1,310,” said Ajay Kedia, director at Kedia Commodities in Mumbai.
“The support we are now seeing at $1,290 shows that as long as there is lack of clarity on the (Brexit) deal, gold should be holding well.”
· British lawmakers voted on Thursday to seek a delay in Brexit, setting the stage for Prime Minister Theresa May to renew efforts to get her divorce deal approved by the parliament next week.
Providing additional support to bullion were increasing signs of a global economic slowdown, analysts said.
· The Bank of Japan on Friday cut its assessment on overseas economies, saying they were showing signs of a slowdown. It also revised down its view on exports and output.
Meanwhile, comments from China’s Premier about a slowing economy suggest that one of the world’s biggest economy is struggling, which is offering gold a bit of support, said Brian Lan, managing director at dealer GoldSilver Central in Singapore.
· In the United States, data released on Thursday underscored growing pressure on the economy. The number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits increased more than expected last week while new home sales fell more than expected in January.
“Data from U.S. is not so good. So, weak U.S. data and Brexit are holding gold prices up,” Kedia said, adding the prevailing uncertainty around U.S.-China trade was also supporting gold.
· A summit to seal a trade deal between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will not happen at the end of March as previously discussed because more work is needed in U.S.-China negotiations, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday.
· The precious metals space will soon be reawakened by palladium’s rally, with gold, silver, and platinum prices heading higher, according to Bloomberg Intelligence (BI).
“The precious metals market is about to resume a rally, in our view, on the back of a surge in the palladium price,” BI’s senior commodity strategist Mike McGlone wrote in his March report. “For the first time in five years, the Bloomberg Precious Metals Spot Subindex is poking above its 72-month average. It may be a better bullish broad-market indication if the recent visit above $1,500 an ounce in palladium marks a peak.”
Gold is also looking interesting with “peaking” U.S. dollar and strong gold ETF inflows defining the space at the moment.
“Gold ETF investors appear unstoppable, collecting ounces last equal to about $1,460,” the strategist wrote. “Up almost 60% since the Federal Reserve's first rate hike this cycle, the percentage increase in total known gold ETF holdings is more than double that of the spot price. Such a disparity last occurred about a decade ago, shortly after the inception of gold ETFs (2004) and coincident with the financial crisis.”
· In other precious metals, palladium gained 0.2 percent to $1,560.47 per ounce, and was on track for about 3 percent weekly gain.
Silver gained over 1 percent to $15.35 an ounce, and platinum jumped 1.4 percent to $829.69.
Reference: Reuters, Kitco
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