Gold settles steady, posts weekly loss of 3%

Gold bars

Gold prices settled steady on Friday, ending the week with a loss as markets assessed US monetary policy outlooks and awaited the results of the US-Russia summit over Ukraine war.

December gold futures remained at $3,382.60 per ounce, but the metal recorded a weekly loss of 3.1%.

Expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut in December fell to around 85% from 92% a day earlier, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

This followed investor evaluations of consumer and producer price data released this week, which showed mixed signals regarding inflationary pressures in the world’s largest economy.

The decline in gold was limited by a drop in the US Dollar Index, which measures the currency’s value against six major currencies, falling 0.40% to 97 points as of 9:43 PM Makkah time.

Meanwhile, markets closely followed the summit held between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on ending the war in Ukraine, which is approaching its fourth year.