By Sethuraman N R
BENGALURU (Reuters) - Gold held steady in thin trade after scaling a six-month peak on Friday, supported by a softer dollar, worries over global economic growth and tumultuous stock markets, propelling bullion to a second week of gains.
Spot gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,277.23 per ounce as of 1025 GMT, and was up 1.7 percent so far this week. The precious metal hit its highest since June 19 at $1,282.09 earlier in the session.
U.S. gold futures were steady at $1,280.40 per ounce.
"Gold prices rose as market sentiment soured anew, weighing on bond yields and cooling U.S. Federal Reserve rate hike bets. That buoyed the appeal of non-interest-bearing bullion," said Ilya Spivak, a currency Strategist at DailyFx.
"From here, follow-through buying seems unlikely as traders withhold conviction ahead of the long weekend and New Year holiday liquidity drain."
The dollar index, a gauge of its value versus six major peers, edged lower, adding to gold's appeal by making it cheaper for holders of other currencies.
Financial markets are expecting U.S. growth to slow next year due to rising interest rates. A measure of U.S. consumer confidence posted its sharpest decline in more than three years in December, emphasising the possibility.
A darkening outlook for global economic growth, a simmering trade war between the United States and China, as well as Brexit-linked uncertainty may trigger renewed risk aversion and help lift gold prices in 2019, Spivak said.
Gold is often used by investors as a hedge against political and financial uncertainty.
"We are seeing good amount of selling from the producers to take advantage of higher prices, which has stopped gold's rally on the upside," said Afshin Nabavi, senior vice president at MKS SA.
"As long as the U.S. government continues to remain shut, it may invoke some safe-haven bids and help gold to touch new highs."
Both chambers of the U.S. Congress convened for only a few minutes late on Thursday, but took no steps to end a partial federal government shutdown before adjourning until next week.
Meanwhile, stocks in Europe and Asia rose cautiously after Wall Street ended a volatile session with big gains, but fears of further price swings and worries about U.S. politics kept safe-haven currencies such as the yen and Swiss franc in demand.
Among other precious metals, silver rose to a near five-month high at $15.364 per ounce and was last up 0.5 percent at $15.29. The metal was on track for its biggest weekly gains since August 2017, up 4.8 percent so far this week.
Platinum was steady at $795.80 per ounce, while palladium dipped 1.1 percent to $1,265.17. Palladium has gained about 3 percent this week.
(Reporting by Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; editing by David Evans)
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
