Gold was mostly steady on Friday, holding near $845 amid views that the dollar would remain under pressure given the grim outlook of the U.S. economy, but activity was slow due to the holiday season.
New York futures markets were closed on Thursday for Christmas, and will reopen on Friday. All UK financial markets will remain closed on Friday for Boxing Day holiday.
Spot gold inched up to $845.90 an ounce at 3:48 a.m. from $844 late in New York, after moving between $840.00 and $847.75.
Gold has lost about 18 percent of its value from the record high of $1030.80 marked in mid-March.
Koji Suzuki, a senior analyst at SBI Futures, said a weak dollar was benefiting gold, which often trades with an inverse correlation to the dollar due to its role as a hedge against the U.S. currency.
"The lack of liquidity is mostly behind recent market moves as position adjustment takes place, but that is about all that's happening," he said.
Trading activity has been light this week due to the Christmas holiday.
The yen dipped against the dollar and the euro on Friday after the release of poor Japanese economic data, but the Japanese currency's losses were limited in thin holiday trade.
