Gold rises, heads for fourth weekly loss

Gold bars

Gold prices rose on Friday, supported by bargain buying at lower levels, but remain on track for a fourth consecutive weekly decline.

April gold futures climbed 1.65%, or $73.10, to $4,449.40 per ounce, though they are set to post weekly losses of more than 4%.

Spot gold rose 1.8% to $4,455.44 per ounce, while silver gained about 2.25% to $69.59.

The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was little changed at 99.85 as of 09:03 a.m. Makkah time.

May silver futures rose 2.4% to $69.55 per ounce, while platinum gained 3.45% to $1,895.53 and palladium advanced 2.95% to $1,404.67.

Markets are awaiting final consumer sentiment data from the University of Michigan, after the preliminary March reading fell to 55.5 from 56.6 in February, along with inflation expectations.