LONDON: Gold hit a near three-week high on Friday after much slower-than-expected US economic growth weighed on the dollar, and was on track for a second monthly gain in a row.

Spot gold, down initially, reached its highest since July 12 at $1,348.60 an ounce after the US data and was up 0.5pc at $1,342.20 at 1355 GMT. US gold rose 0.6pc to $1,349.00 an ounce.

Platinum climbed 1.5pc to $1,146.25 an ounce and was on track for its best month since January 2012, with more than 10pc growth this month. It hit a 14-month high on Wednesday. Silver was up 0.3pc at $20.22 an ounce, and headed for a second monthly gain.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2016