Gold heads for weekly fall as Fed officials strike hawkish tone

Glittering haven: Gold of various weights and sizes sit at Gold Investments Ltd bullion dealers in London. — Bloomberg

BENGALURU: prices rose on Friday but a more hawkish stance of U.S. Federal Reserve officials on stimulus tapering and interest rate rises put the metal on course for a third straight weekly drop.

Spot gold rose 0.2% to $1,772.41 per ounce by 0439 GMT, after hitting its lowest in nearly a month on Thursday. U.S. gold futures gained 0.6% to $1,773.30.