FX.co ★ Gold Inches Higher On Weaker Dollar

Gold prices inched higher on Friday and looked set to post their biggest weekly gain since mid-January as U.S. rate hike worries eased.

Spot gold rose 0.6 percent to $1,846.46 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were up 0.6 percent at $1,851.50.

The dollar index eased and was on course for its first weekly loss since January after comments from a Federal Reserve official raised hopes that the Fed with stick with a 25-bps rate hike at its next meeting in March.

Treasury yields also declined after Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic said he favored "slow and steady" path of interest rate hikes.

In economic releases, strong service sector data from Asia and Europe helped calm market fears that a recession may be imminent.

The U.S. ISM non-manufacturing PMI numbers and several FOMC member speeches are due later in the New York session, heading into Fed Chair Jerome Powell's testimony and the release of U.S. employment data next week.