Gold prices snap 9-session uptrend

Gold bars

Gold prices declined on Friday amid profit-taking as the precious metal reached record highs at the end of the past six trading sessions.

April gold futures edged down 0.75%, or $22.4, to $3,021.40 per ounce, reversing a nine-session uptrend. However, the yellow metal continued its rise for the third straight week, as it achieved a rise of 0.7% this week. This came after the Federal Reserve slashed the interest rates two times this years, supported by the trade geopolitical tensions.

 The US dollar index—which measures the currency’s performance against a basket of six major peers—gained 0.2% to 104.06 points at 9:45 pm Makkah time.

"In our bull case, we see gold prices reaching $3,500 per ounce by year-end, underpinned by much higher hedging/investment demand on fears of US hard landing/stagflation," analysts at Citi said in a note.