By Shreyansi Singh
(Reuters) - Gold prices rose to a seven-week high on Friday and were on track for their best week since mid-December as retreating U.S. Treasury yields and a softer dollar bolstered the metal's appeal.
Spot gold jumped 0.9% to $1,779.00 per ounce by 10:26 a.m. EDT (1426 GMT), having earlier hit its highest since Feb. 25 at $1,783.55. It is up over 2% so far this week.
U.S. gold futures rose 0.6% to $1,777.30.
"The macro argument for gold has also improved. We are poised for a run towards $1,800," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.
"We've had many investors abandon some positions because of some extreme technical selling we saw with Treasury yields and that has really provided a strong backdrop here for gold prices to continue to appreciate."