Investing.com - Gold prices traded higher on Friday, after weaker than expected inflation and core retail sales data weighed on the dollar and lifted sentiment for the yellow metal.
Gold for June delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained $3.63 or 0.30%, to $1,227.88 a troy ounce by 13:31 EDT.
Gold futures were on track to snap a three-week losing streak, after a softer batch of economic data eased risk-on sentiment, pushing the dollar and US treasuries lower.
Core Retail Sales, an important indicator used to gauge the strength of the U.S. economy, increased by 0.3% last month, compared to expectations for a 0.5% rise.
Elsewhere, the Labor Department said consumer prices rose 0.2% after a 0.3% drop in March, which was the biggest fall in more than two years.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell by 0.34% to 99.19.
Dollar-denominated assets such as gold are sensitive to moves in the dollar – A dip in the dollar makes gold cheaper for holders of foreign currency and thus, increases demand.
The U.S. 10-Year slipped 2.87% to 2.331, however, investors remained optimistic that the Federal Reserve will increase its benchmark rate in June.
According to investing.com’s fed rate monitor tool, 70% of traders expect the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates in June, compared to 63% in the previous week.
Gold is sensitive to changes in US interest rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion.
In other precious metals trading, silver futures rose 0.90% to $16.412 a troy ounce while platinum added 0.10% to trade at $918.60,
Copper gained 0.64% to $2.524 while natural gas traded at $3.421, up 1.30%.