Mubasher: Gold prices rose on Friday, heading for their strongest level in 15 weeks, as the dollar retreated on fresh prospects of impending halt in the US Federal Reserve’s tightening cycle.

By 9:30 am GMT, US gold futures went up 0.10% to $1,244.80 per ounce, while spot gold rose 0.16% to $1,239.80 per ounce.

However, the US dollar, which traces the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, ticked up 0.04% to 96.8480.

The index struggled on mounting concerns about lower US long-term Treasury yields, with an inversion of the yield curve, indicating a steep economic downturn or a recession down the road.

Investors now anticipate data on US non-farm payrolls due later in the day, looking for indication of the health of the economy which would guide the Fed’s monetary policy stance.

Markets also await figures on US unemployment rate and wages to be released later in the day.

Gold traders were upbeat following a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report that the Fed was eying whether to signal a new wait-and-see approach after an expected interest rate hike at its December meeting.

“Gold is sensitive to monetary policy changes,” Hong Kong-based Wing Fung Precious Metals research head Mark To told Thomson Reuters.

“If there is a slowing down in interest rate hikes, I think by the end of this year $1,250 to $1,260 should be easily reachable for gold,” To said.