Gold inched up to resume its rise for a fourth straight session as heightening tensions in Ukraine spurred safety demand on the metal.
The government in Kiev accused Russia of sending troops to help pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine, erasing nay hopes the diplomatic efforts could ease the undergoing conflict.
The West condemned Russia’s aggression and expressed their frustration, but did not announce any immediate action against Russia.
"It is not in the cards for us to see a military confrontation between Russia and the United States in this region," U.S. President Barack Obama said at a White House news conference.
The yellow metal is headed for a weekly gain, while may end this month on an advance, yet still facing downside pressure from the progress in U.S. economy, which added to the case the Fed may raise interest rates sooner than expected.
Data released yesterday showed that U.S. second-quarter GDP was upwardly revised to 4.2 percent from 4.0 percent while initial jobless claims for last week came more than forecasts.
Later in the day, the U.S. will release personal spending data for July, followed by the University of Michigan confidence for August.
The U.S. dollar rose for a second consecutive session versus a basket of major currencies, after hitting a low of 82.33 on Thursday. The dollar index surged to 82.58 after touching a peak of 82.60.
The dollar is meanwhile resisting attempts for a downside correction after it became overbought, according to the momentum indicators.
U.S. shares retreated yesterday, pushing the S&P index 0.17 percent down to close below 2,000 points at 1996.74.
Gold is currently trading around $1288.61 after hitting a high of $1290.91 and a low of $1287.70.
Crude oil for October’s delivery climbed for a second session to trade around $94.83 after hitting a bottom of $94.47.