LONDON--Spot gold recovered some ground Friday, bouncing after four straight sessions of losses took it to a three-week low.
The yellow metal was 0.9% higher on the previous session's settlement price at $1,338.51 per troy ounce. Silver rose 1.0% to $20.444 per ounce.
"After several days of selling, some support seems to be emerging," noted INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir in a note to clients. "But it is too early to say for sure given the bearish undertow that has been generated in the wake of the Federal Reserve statement and the stand-off that seems to be characterizing the Ukrainian situation."
Prices had already been softening over the week, and the "safe-haven" bid for gold unwinding, as immediate risks surrounding Ukraine waned. Losses were exacerbated Wednesday after Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen signaled that the U.S. central bank intends to keep short-term rates near zero into next year, but investors saw signs that rate increases might come a bit sooner and be a touch more aggressive than expected.
"The fact that the dollar rallied for a second straight day on Thursday coupled with surging U.S. equities, are additional headwinds that gold has to contend with in the short-term," said Mr. Meir. A stronger dollar tends to dent the appeal of gold both as a buck-priced asset and as a hedge against currency weakness. The metals also tends to suffer when assets more positively related to improved risk-appetite in global markets, such as equity markets, fare better.
FuturesTechs analyst Clive Lambert saw a potential cushion for prices looking at gold's chart and key technical levels.
"We are looking to see if...$1,348.50 per ounce can be seen off to suggest a low is in place and the market is set to rally once more," he said Friday.
Spot platinum rose 0.8% to $1,437.80 per ounce, while palladium climbed 0.55 to $770.41 per ounce. The metals, dragged higher in gold's slipstream, continue to find price strength as risks to supply are set against a robust demand picture.
