Gold poised for weekly gain as dollar slides

Gold poised for weekly gain as dollar slides

Gold prices firmed on Friday as the dollar continued to weaken, and helped put bullion on track for a second straight weekly rise amid cooling bets for a more aggressive Federal Reserve monetary policy.

Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,854.05 per ounce, by 0325 GMT.

U.S. gold futures were up 0.2% at $1,851.90.

For the week so far, bullion is up 0.4%. Gold this week has been supported by a moderation somewhat in market expectations from the Fed's monetary policy for next year, and most importantly the weaker U.S. dollar, said Ilya Spivak, a currency strategist at DailyFX.

There is price support at $1,830 on the downside and on the topside the next key level is around $1,885, Spivak added.

Minutes of the Fed's May 3-4 policy meeting released on Wednesday highlighted, as the market expected, that most participants favouring additional 50 basis point rate hikes at the June and July meetings.

Higher short-term U.S. interest rates and bond yields raise the opportunity cost of holding bullion, which yields nothing. The dollar index fell en route a second straight weekly decline, making bullion less expensive for buyers holding other currencies.

"We need a clearer signal that hard economic data is turning sour for the Fed to