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Gold edged higher on Friday after losing more than 1% in the previous session, but was on track for its biggest weekly decline since March as a firmer US dollar cut the metal’s appeal.

The dollar was up for a fourth week in five against a basket of major currencies, making dollar-denominated assets such as gold more costly for holders of other currencies.

The greenback got a boost overnight after Boston Federal Reserve President Eric Rosengren said the Fed should raise interest rates if data confirms a stronger jobs market and inflation outlook in the second quarter.

"Right now the dollar is the primary factor in the gold price," said William Wong, assistant head of dealing at Wing Fung Precious Metals in Hong Kong.

Mr Wong believes market opinions remain mixed on when the Fed will hike rates next after raising them for the first time in nearly a decade last December. The metal is likely to be trapped between $1,250 and $1,300 before the Fed’s next meeting in June.

Technical analysts at ScotiaMocatta said their view on gold was neutral so long as it traded between the $1,303 resistance level and the $1,256 support.

BMO Capital Markets has raised its price forecasts for gold and silver , and said the yellow metal to exit the year around $1,400 an ounce and silver around $21 an ounce.

With its higher forecasts for the metals, bank analysts also hiked price targets for shares of gold- and silver-mining companies by an average of 24%.

BMO also commented that the gold market is factoring in little probability of a U.S. rate hike through July, so the question facing the market is whether the Federal Reserve lifts again by year-end.

Reference: Scrapregister, Reuters