Gold hovers below 7-week top; copper touches 5-week high

New York

THE price of gold turned higher on Friday, hovering below the prior session's seven-week top as the US dollar weakened and US Treasury yields came off their highs, with the metal on track for a third straight weekly gain.

The greenback and yields were initially higher on the back of strong US retail sales, which reinforced the prospect of the Federal Reserve raising rates this year, perhaps sooner than previously expected, traders said. Spot gold was 0.2 per cent higher at US$1,197.99 an ounce by 3.09 pm EST. It was up 2.1 per cent on the week.

US gold futures settled down 0.3 per cent at US$1,196.20 per ounce, ahead of the US holiday on Monday. The gold price has risen 6.5 per cent since a mid-December low and on Thursday reached its …