FX.co ★ Gold Dips As Dollar Rebounds On Hawkish Fed Bets

Gold prices fell about 1 percent on Friday and were on track for a weekly decline as investors factor in the possibility of additional rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

Spot gold fell 0.9 percent to $1,987.16 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were down 1.1 percent at $1,998.25.

Bullion lost about 1 percent so far this week, marking its biggest weekly decline since late February.

The dollar traded higher in European trade and was on track for its first weekly gain since February on bets that Fed officials will lift rates by 25 basis points at their upcoming May 2-3 meeting.

Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said on Thursday that "some additional tightening may be needed to ensure policy is restrictive enough" to support the Fed's dual mandate of keeping both unemployment and inflation low.

Meanwhile, data showing a surprising recovery in the euro zone helped ease concerns around an impending recession.

A survey showed the eurozone economy's growth accelerated in April and hit an 11-month high.

Data from the HCOB Flash Eurozone purchasing managers' index (PMI) survey published by S&P Global rose to 54.4 in April from 53.7 in March.