Gold price extended its losses on Friday after stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data reduced expectations of near-term Federal Reserve rate cuts, while easing geopolitical tensions shrunk demand for safe-haven bullion.
"The downward move (in gold) began predominantly when there was some ... (lowering of) the odds of some kind of intervention by the United States in the social unrest in Iran ... (and) we're seeing data come through from the U.S., it shows that there's not an urgency to cut interest rates," said Kyle Rodda, an analyst at Capital.com.
The dollar was poised for a third weekly gain after data from the U.S. Labor Department showed weekly initial jobless claims dropped 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 198,000, below the 215,000 expected by a Reuters poll of economists.
