• Gold edged lower on Friday to hit a three-week low and was on track for a second weekly fall, dragged down as upbeat U.S. economic data supported the dollar.
• Spot gold had dropped 0.1 percent to $1,252.61 per ounce by 0406 GMT after touching its weakest since May 24 at $1,251.05 earlier in the session. The metal has fallen about 1 percent so far this week.
• The dollar index held near a two-week high after data showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week.
• "The fact that the dollar is nudging higher, should continue to pressure the market, while the churn in U.S. equities is still not serious enough to warrant a flight to safety into the precious metal," said INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir.
• "We think gold will likely have another $20-$25 on the downside before encountering more serious support."
• "The strengthening of the dollar (is weighing on gold)... and after the latest Fed interest rate hike people are waiting to see when the Fed will raise rates next," said Brian Lan, managing director at gold dealer GoldSilver Central in Singapore.
• Among other precious metals, spot silver was headed for its biggest weekly decline in six weeks and was flat on the day at $16.71 per ounce. It fell to a low of $16.64 in the previous session, its weakest since May 19.
• "Price action in both gold and silver of late seems to imply that traders still have plenty of short-term long positioning on their books," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA.
• "It may leave both metals vulnerable to a further washout into the weekend if the U.S. dollar strength persists."
Reference: Reuters
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