LONDON: Gold steadied on Friday having hit its highest in more than six weeks and was heading for its biggest weekly climb since mid-January as more bad economic data from China rattled financial markets.

World stocks tumbled towards their worst week of the year, while the dollar index hit its lowest in nearly eight weeks after a Chinese factory data added to doubts that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next month.

Gold had already rebounded this week from July’s 5-1/2 year low, boosted by minutes of the Fed’s last policy meeting, which dented expectations for an imminent rise in US rates.

Spot gold hit a peak of $1,168.40 an ounce and was at $1,153.60 at 1414 GMT, little changed from late on Thursday and up 3.5 per cent on the week. US gold futures for December delivery were $1.90 at $1,151.30.

Silver was down 2.5pc at $15.16 an ounce, platinum was down by 0.7pc at $1,021.99 and palladium was down 2.2pc at $604.22.—Reuters

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2015

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