 "Gold heads for weekly rise on subdued US Treasury yields, dollar")
Gold was little changed on Friday but was set to post a third straight weekly gain after U.S. President Joe Biden's proposal to hike capital gains tax weighed on U.S. Treasury yields, while a weaker dollar also supported.
Spot gold was steady at $1,783.24 per ounce by 0723 GMT. The metal jumped to its highest since Feb. 25 at $1,797.67 on Thursday, and has added about 0.4% so far this week.
U.S. gold futures rose 0.2% to $1,785.60 per ounce.
"The knock-on effect from the tax hike (proposal) is attracting bond investors and the yields have dropped, and this is providing a little bit of lift-off for gold," said Stephen Innes, chief global market strategist at financial services firm Axi.
"The big question now facing gold markets is a decision on how the U.S. Federal Reserve is going to play next week."
The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield ticked lower on news that Biden will roll out a plan to raise taxes for high earners.
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A subdued dollar also raised gold's appeal for other currency holders.
Underlining a revival in Asian bullion demand, shipments to India leapt to their highest since 2013, driving Swiss gold exports to a 10-month high.
Despite signs of strong pent-up demand for physical gold in India, rising coronavirus cases and renewed lockdown measures are threatening to kill off that revival, ANZ analysts wrote in a note.
India recorded the world's highest daily tally of COVID-19 infections on Thursday.
Palladium rose 0.4% to $2,847.63 per ounce but was off a record $2,891.50 hit on Thursday. Many analysts expect a further run towards $3,000 as automakers ramp up purchases of the metal, worsening a supply shortage.
Silver was down 0.4% at $26.06 per ounce, but set for a third straight weekly gain.
Platinum gained 0.5% to $1,209.11.
(Reporting by Shreyansi Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)