Gold set for 1st weekly loss since May

Gold prices dipped on Friday and were set for the first weekly loss since May as Asian shares surged to a nine-month high and the dollar hit a three-week top against the yen on better-than-expected Chinese data, lifting risk sentiment across the board.

Asian shares were on track for a solid weekly rise as economic data from China boosted risk appetite that was already buoyant after record highs on Wall Street.

The dollar was on track to gain more than 5 per cent for the week against its Japanese counterpart.

Spot gold eased 0.2 per cent to $1,332.70 per ounce by 0700 GMT.

Bullion closed about 0.6 per cent lower on Thursday after hitting its lowest since June 30 earlier in the session. The metal has fallen about 2.5 per cent so far this week and is on track for its first weekly decline since the week ending May 27.

US gold inched up 0.1 per cent to $1,333.30 an ounce.

"The precious metals are taking a breather. They have done really well this year and went up too quickly. So retrenchment is only right to happen. Also, stock markets are doing well at this point of time,” said Brian Lan, managing director at Singapore-based gold dealer GoldSilver Central.

"Gold will be under pressure for now and might possibly retest the lows from end-June if the US retail data (for June) due later today is better than expected.”

Three Federal Reserve policymakers had on Thursday expressed the view that there was no hurry to raise US interest rates in the wake of the UK decision to leave the European Union, despite signs that the US economy is near full employment.

Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 0.25 per cent to 962.85 tonnes on Thursday.

"Gold prices seem vulnerable to the downside as the financial markets look more confident. The path of least resistance appears lower, for now. The net long spec positions are historically high and may need to be pared back before gold can advance,” HSBC analyst James Steel said in a note.

Spot gold is expected to fall to $1,313 per ounce, as suggested by two sets of Fibonacci retracement analysis, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said on Friday.

Among other precious metals, spot palladium marked its highest since early November, touching a session high of $652.

Spot silver was down 0.3 per cent at $20.24 an ounce. It was marginally lower for the week, and near its first weekly loss in seven. Spot platinum slipped 0.5 per cent to $1,093.74, and was seen flat for the week.

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