- Gold well positioned for a significant gain, analyst says
- Gold hit record high of $3,707.40/oz on Wednesday
- India premiums hit 10-month high
Sept 19 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged higher on Friday, set for a fifth straight weekly gain, buoyed by the Federal Reserve's first rate cut of the year, while investors awaited further cues on the U.S. policy outlook.
Spot gold was up 0.1% at $3,647.68 per ounce as of 1148 GMT. Bullion is up 0.2% so far this week.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery rose 0.1% to $3,679.90.
The Fed cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday but tempered its message with warnings of sticky inflation, sowing doubt over the pace of future easing.
"The Fed policy outlook remains the primary driving force for bullion bugs, even as precious metals enjoy tremendous support from central bank purchases and safe-haven demand; any dips below $3,600 are bound to be short-lived," said Han Tan, chief market analyst at Nemo.money.
Non-yielding bullion, which tends to perform well in a low-interest-rate environment, hit a record high of $3,707.40 on Wednesday. It has risen about 39% so far this year.
Traders are pricing in a 92% chance of another 25-bps cut at the Fed's October meeting, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.
"Key thing that is driving gold prices is the continued dollar depreciation as year-to-date it has been very strong and we believe the pattern to continue," said Nitesh Shah, commodities strategist, WisdomTree.
"Gold prices are well positioned for a significant gain, and we expect this time next year gold prices to be around $4,300."
Physical gold premiums in India rose to a 10-month high this week as record prices near a festive season failed to deter investors from buying bullion in anticipation of further gains.
Elsewhere, spot silver rose 0.7% to $42.06 per ounce and was headed for a weekly gain. Platinum fell 0.1% to $1,382.45, while Palladium was up 0.3% at $1,154.25.
Reporting by Anmol Choubey in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Harikrishnan Nair
Source: Reuters