Gold prices were on track for a fourth consecutive weekly fall on Friday, as a resilient dollar and expectations of faster U.S. rate hikes to tame inflation kept bullion pressured near the key $4,000-per-ounce level.
Spot gold was down 0.5% at $4,007.95 per ounce, as of 0610 GMT. U.S. gold futures for August delivery lost 0.6% to $4,024.10.
For the week, bullion was on track for a loss of 3.6%, having slipped below the key $4,000 level for the first time since November 2025 on Wednesday.
"The rapid repricing of the hawkish Fed created a strong bullish momentum in the U.S. dollar, which eventually led to this significant downward drift in gold prices," said Kelvin Wong, a senior market analyst at OANDA.
The U.S. dollar index was headed for a second consecutive weekly gain, making gold more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Wong sees the multi-month correction in gold, since the record high reached in late January, extending towards $3,400 in the long term.
Gold prices have fallen about 29% from the record high of $5,594.82 on January 29, as inflation fuelled by the U.S.-Iran war ramped up rate-hike bets.
Data on Thursday showed that U.S. inflation increased further in May, breaking above 4.0% for the first time in three years, as forecast by economists surveyed by Reuters.
Although gold is typically viewed as a hedge against inflation, it tends to lose its appeal as a non-yielding asset in a high-interest-rate environment.
Traders expect three Fed rate hikes this year and are pricing in about a 64% chance of a September increase, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
Among other metals, spot silver fell 2.5% to $56.42 per ounce, platinum lost 1.5% to $1,577.15, and palladium slid 0.4% to $1,179.26. All metals were headed for a weekly loss. - Reuters
