Gold extends rally ahead of U.S. data; eyes 1st weekly gain in five

By Apeksha Nair

REUTERS - Gold rose for a sixth day on Friday, buoyed by a weaker dollar, with investors waiting for key U.S. inflation data for clues on the outlook for potential hikes in U.S. interest rates.

Spot gold was up 0.3 percent at $1,297.06 an ounce, as of 0657 GMT, after earlier marking its highest since Sept. 26.

The metal was on track to post its first weekly gain in five.

U.S. gold futures for December delivery gained 0.2 percent at $1,299.30 per ounce.

"We remain somewhat cautious on gold here, as we think the complex will have some difficulty moving higher as we approach both the ECB meeting and the Fed rate increase slated for year-end," INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir said in a note.

"Having said that, with the political situation in Washington looking messy and potentially bearish for the dollar ... the precious metal could see an element of support materialising as well."

The dollar slipped on Friday, on track for weekly losses as investors awaited the U.S. inflation data to gauge the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will stick to its plan to raise interest rates again this year.

The greenback hit an over two-week low against a basket of currencies in the previous session after minutes from the Fed's September meeting showed the central bank was concerned over low inflation.

Hurdles in U.S. tax and healthcare reforms had also recently pressured the currency.

However, data on Thursday showed U.S. producer prices rose in September, suggesting signs of underlying strength in both wholesale inflation and the labour market, potentially leaving the Fed on track to raise interest rates again in December.

Markets were pricing in a nearly 90 percent chance of a December rate hike, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.

Gold is highly sensitive to rising rates, as these tend to boost the dollar, putting pressure on the greenback-denominated asset.

Elsewhere, European Central Bank Chief Mario Draghi defended a pledge to keep interest rates at rock bottom on Thursday, while Bank of Japan's Haruhiko Kuroda stressed the central bank's resolve to maintain its ultra-loose monetary policy.

"Draghi's phrasing could have provided gold with support as well, as it showed that not all central banks are moving at the same speed towards tightening policy and some(like the BoJ) have no intention at all."

Spot gold may retest a resistance zone of $1,297-$1,299 per ounce, a break above which could lead to a gain to $1,305, Reuters technicals analyst Wang Tao said.

Silver was up 0.7 percent at $17.28 an ounce, after marking an over three-week high earlier in the session.

Platinum and palladium climbed 0.6 percent each to $938.70 and $978.60 an ounce, respectively.

(Reporting by Apeksha Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Joseph Radford and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)