LONDON: Gold eased from a three-week high on Friday as the dollar index rebounded from an earlier three-year low, but was still on track for its biggest weekly gain in nearly two years on the back of weakness in the US currency and inflation concerns.

The dollar hit its lowest since 2014 in overnight trade and is heading for its biggest weekly loss in two years as negative sentiment offset any support the greenback could take from rising Treasury yields.

Spot gold was up 0.1pc at $1,354.31 an ounce at 1230 GMT, off an earlier three-week peak of $1,361.76. US April gold futures were up $2.30 an ounce at $1,357.60.

Gold in rupee terms hit a 15-month high of 30,836 rupees on Friday.

Among other precious metals, silver was down 0.4pc at $16.80, while platinum was little changed at $1,001.50 after hitting its highest since Jan 29 at $1,012.70. Palladium was up 1.4pc at $1,031.50. The metal has risen 5.9pc so far this week, its best since October.

Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2018