Gold prices fought to advance in early Friday trade, with investors watching whether the commodity can defend a key psychologically trend line above $1,300, as a strengthening dollar and an ease in geopolitical tensions weighs on bullion.
June gold GCM8, -0.08% was little changed, off less than 0.1%, to $1,306.70 an ounce.
A mixed reading within the details of a durable goods report did little to counter a largely dovish set of Federal Reserve meeting minutes released earlier this week, which had already helped the precious metal rebound from the lowest levels of 2018.
Activity may be lighter than normal ahead of a three-day weekend, with markets shut on Monday for Memorial Day.
��A weekly close above $1,307, which is the 200-day moving average, is likely to trigger a rethink among funds holding the lowest net-long position in 10 months,�� said Ole Hansen, commodities analyst at Saxo Bank.
Prices for the metal found some support this week as minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve��s May meeting didn��t indicate a more aggressive pace of interest-rate increases was in the offing. Central bank officials backed longstanding market expectations for an interest-rate hike next month. Prospects for higher interest rates are typically dollar-positive and a drag on gold.
Chairman Jerome Powell was set to appear on a panel on financial stability and central-bank transparency at a conference in Stockholm Friday morning.
Meanwhile, the presidents of the Chicago and Dallas Feds, Charles Evans and Rob Kaplan, are expected to speak on a panel at a Dallas Fed conference on technology and disruption at 11:45 a.m. Eastern.
Investors will keep an eye on geopolitical headlines, which can be gold-supportive. President Donald Trump called off a June 12 summit with North Korea but a senior official from Pyongyang said its leader Kim Jong Un is still willing to meet. U.S. stocks briefly tumbled Thursday on news that Trump had pulled out, but traders seemed to be finding some reassurance in North Korea��s measured response, sending stocks higher Friday. Stock gains could help keep haven gold��s advance in check.
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, +0.45% �rose 0.3% to 94.11 after rising to its highest level since mid-December earlier this week and the 10-year Treasury note yield TMUBMUSD10Y, -1.72% fell further below the closely watched 3% line.
In other trading, July silver SIN8, -0.61% slipped 0.1% to $16.67 an ounce, on track for a roughly 1.3% weekly gain.
��July silver futures bulls and bears are back on a level overall near-term technical playing field,�� said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst with Kitco.com. ��Silver bulls�� next upside price breakout objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at $17.00 an ounce. The next downside price breakout objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at the May low of $16.07.��
July copper HGN8, -0.61% �saw muted action, trading at $3.097 a pound, as July platinum PLN8, -0.98% �fell 0.4% to $909.10 an ounce, but September palladium PAU8, -0.32% gained 0.5% to $970.50 an ounce.
Among exchange-traded funds, the SPDR Gold Shares GLD, +0.04% �rose 0.1%, with the iShares Silver Trust SLV, -0.52% �down slightly, while the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF GDX, -0.79% �eased 0.4%.
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