Gold set for its worst week in more than a year

London — Gold recovered some ground on Friday as a weakening of the dollar relieved pressure on prices, but the metal remained near 19-month lows and looked set for its biggest weekly fall since May 2017.

Gold has tumbled 14% from its April high as a rally in the greenback made dollar-priced bullion more expensive for buyers with other currencies. Investors seeking a safe place to store assets amid trade disputes and a Turkish currency crisis have preferred the dollar to gold, undermining the reputation of bullion as a safe haven.

However, news of planned US-China trade talks and a steadying of Turkey’s lira have steadied nerves.

From a 13-month high on Wednesday against a basket of peers, the dollar has weakened against the currencies of key gold markets — the eurozone, China and India — helping gold regain its footing, said ABN AMRO analyst Georgette Boele. “I expect the dollar to peak in the coming weeks … Gold should bottom out here.”

Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,175.89 an ounce at 10.16am GMT but down 2.9% this week in its sixth consecutive weekly loss. On Thursday it touched $1,159.96, the lowest since January 2017. US gold futures were 0.1% lower at $1,182.30 an ounce.

“It’s reasonable to expect prices to retrace some of the recent aggressive move down in the short term, but there doesn’t seem to be evidence for a sustained move higher yet,” said Nicholas Frappell, GM at ABC Bullion.