Gold futures little changed

Gold prices were little changed on Friday, as growing expectations for a near-term U.S. rate hike continued to weigh on the precious metal.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery were steady at $1,194.20.

The April contract ended Thursday's session 0.79% lower at $1,193.60 an ounce.

Futures were likely to find support at $1,180.50, the low from April and resistance at $1,212.50, the high from April 8.

Gold futures weakened after New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley said Wednesday that the timing of a rate hike depends on economic data and added that a rate hike in June could still be possible if the labor market recovery remained strong.

Fed Governor Jerome Powell said he would be willing to start tightening policy despite current low levels of inflation, adding the Fed could act in June if economic data over the next two months showed that the recovery remained on track.

Meanwhile, Wednesday’s minutes of the Fed’s March meeting showed that several officials believe the economic outlook is likely to warrant an interest rate hike in June.

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending April 4 rose by 14,000 to 281,000 from the previous week’s total of 267,000.

Analysts had expected initial jobless claims to rise by 18,000 to 285,000 last week.

The positive data added to optimism over strength of the U.S. job market.

Elsewhere in metals trading, silver futures for May delivery gained 0.45% to $16.248 a troy ounce, while copper futures for May delivery advanced 0.62% to $2.746 a pound.