Gold futures settled higher on Friday as the dollar stayed a bit sluggish, taking a breather after recent strong gains.
The dollar surged higher in recent sessions, riding on a hawkish tone from the Federal Reserve. The central bank, which raised interest rate by 50 basis points on Wednesday, said further increases would be appropriate as inflation remains "at elevated level."
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in his post meeting press conference on Wednesday that the central bank will require "substantially more evidence" inflation is on a sustained downward trend before halting its rate hikes.
The dollar index, which surged to 104.74 in the Asian session, slipped subsequently and despite edging above the flat line later on in the session, continues to make a significant move up north. The index was last seen at 104.59, up slightly from the previous close.
Gold futures for February ended higher by $12.40 or about 0.7% at $1,800.20 an ounce.
Silver futures for March ended up $0.023 at $23.328 an ounce, while Copper futures for March settled at $3.7615 per pound, down $0.0015 from the previous close.
