*
PMI data awaited
*
Gold eyes worst week since late February
*
Silver faces first weekly fall in six
(Adds details, updates prices)
By Kavya Guduru
April 21 (Reuters) - Gold prices slid on Friday as the
dollar rose, on course to a weekly loss, while investors
remained focussed on whether the U.S. Federal Reserve would
pause its tightening cycle after delivering one more rate hike
next month.
Spot gold was down 1% at $1,984.89 per ounce, as of
0725 GMT, after rising 1% on Thursday. Bullion has lost about
0.9% so far this week, its biggest weekly decline since late
February.
U.S. gold futures shed 1.2% to $1,995.60.
Gold prices have been moderating in the absence of real
incoming news flow and "we really need to see some bigger pieces
of information to give it that directional conviction", said
Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive.
Data on Thursday showed more Americans filing claims for
unemployment benefits. Separate data showed factory activity in
the mid-Atlantic region plunging to a nearly three-year low in
April.
Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester on Thursday said the
Fed still has more rate increases ahead of it, but noted the
aggressive move to boost the borrowing cost over the last year
is nearing its end.
Rate hikes raise the opportunity cost of holding
non-interest-bearing gold.
The CME FedWatch tool shows markets are pricing in an 82.6%
chance of a 25 basis points hike in May, which set the dollar
for its first weekly gain in over a month and made bullion
expensive for overseas buyers. Data showed British retail sales fell by a
greater-than-expected 0.9% in March from February. The Bank of
England is expected to raise rates for the 12th consecutive
meeting in May.
The Purchasing Managers' Index data due later in the day
will be "an interesting window into what's going on, then
another big break until we see the U.S. GDP and PCE numbers next
week," Spivak said.
Spot silver dropped 1.2% to $24.98 per ounce, and was
headed for its first weekly decline in six.
Platinum fell 0.4% to $1,088.34 and palladium eased 0.1% to $1,585.83.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ xau ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Kavya Guduru in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Varun H K)
