Gold faces worst week in four, silver set for weekly decline

Gold gained on Friday, recovering from a more than two-month low hit in the previous session, although prices were set for their biggest weekly drop in four due to a stronger dollar.

Silver headed for its worst week in three after retreating sharply from multi-year highs hit earlier this week when increased retail interest had propelled prices.

Spot gold rose 0.3 per cent to $1,798.41 per ounce by 0802 GMT, after falling over 2 per cent to their lowest since 1 December on Thursday. US gold futures gained 0.4 per cent to $1,799.10.

For the week so far, gold has shed 2.1 per cent and is on course for its biggest decline since the week ended 8 January.

"There is some technical rebound as investors think Thursday's drop was overdone, but overall trend in gold remains bearish on rising dollar and yields," said DailyFX strategist Margaret Yang.

The dollar was set for its best week in three months, while US Treasury yields rose.

"The economic outlook is definitely brighter with vaccines bringing down daily COVID-19 infections, and the macro data is improving, undermining the demand for precious metals as a store of value," Yang said.

"Gold is about to endure some serious short-term pain," Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at OANDA said, adding that gold's role as an inflation hedge will return as the economic recovery starts accelerating by late second-quarter.

Spot silver rose 0.7 per cent to $26.47 an ounce, but was down 1.3 per cent for the week. Prices have dropped over 11 per cent since scaling a near eight-year peak of $30.03 on Monday.

"Silver's fate will be similar to gold and it can retest $22 over the next two weeks, although it'll find some support through Biden's solar push," Halley said.

Platinum added 0.9 per cent to $1,107.10 and palladium gained 1.1 percent to $2,306.85. Both metals were headed for their best week in five.