Although hopes for a probable pause in interest rate hikes by the US central bank kept the bullion on track for weekly gain, gold prices fell slightly this day after rising by more than 1% in the previous session.

At 03:04 GMT, spot gold was down 0.2% to $1,964.79 per ounce. It was heading for a weekly increase of 0.9%. U.S. gold futures remained stable at $1,979.80. Platinum rose 0.5% to $1,015.48, and was ready to end two consecutive weeks of decline. Palladium increased by 0.3% to $1,365.39, and cash rose by 0.4% to $24,3387