• Gold prices held steady on Friday near 3-1/2-month highs hit in the previous session amid tempered expectations of a U.S. rate hike in March and as investors awaited clarity on President Donald Trump's economic policy.
• Spot gold was mostly unchanged at $1,249.37 per ounce at 0326 GMT after hitting its highest since Nov. 11, 2016 at $1,251.14 in the previous session. The metal has gained more than 1 percent so far this week.
• "Thursday's action showed us that gold bugs assumed that the U.S. Federal Reserve will likely stand pat in March and may not move until much later," INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir said
• "Even in the event of a rate increase, we doubt the precious metal will lose much ground ahead of the key presidential elections in France in April, coupled with the Washington gridlock that seems to be calcifying with greater intensity after each passing day," Meir said.
• Investors were looking ahead to an address by Trump to Congress next week for further clarity on his economic policy.
• Trump told chief executives of major U.S. companies on Thursday that he planned to bring millions of jobs back to the United States, but offered no specific plan on how to reverse a decade-long decline in factory jobs.
• Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday laid out an ambitious schedule to enact tax relief for the middle class and businesses by August.
• Political uncertainty, including elections in Europe, has offered broad support to gold, which has risen over 8 percent this year.
• Spot gold may gain more to $1,278 as it has more or less broken above a resistance at $1,249, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.
• Meanwhile, silver rose 0.2 percent to $18.20 per ounce, near a 3-1/2-month high of $18.22 touched in the previous session. Silver was on track to end the week up about 1 percent, its ninth straight weekly gain.
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