The greenback weakened in early market session trade as gold approached seven-month highs this week, with signs of a slowing jobs market increasing the likelihood of softer US inflation data.
Gold has been in a downtrend for some 37 weeks and is still under pressure with its reverse-price currency the dollar being supported by Fed talk of further US interest rate hikes.
This week investors were looking for confirmation on whether or not to buy gold, with the value of the US dollar being boosted by the high possibility of interest rate hikes. After dropping six days in a row from the August 15 opening price of $1,801 per ounce to the August 22 closing price of $1,735 per ounce, the yellow metal had a three-day comeback.
Gold, its price generally inverse to the dollar, has seen bullish trends return since Monday after dramatically dropping from $1,790 per ounce to $1,774 last Friday.
Gold traders and investors were paying close attention this week to the key statement from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, as were other global economy watchers.