As traders digested remarks from global central banks on rate hikes, the gold price stabilized on Friday after a strong sell-off during the previous session.

After losing 2% in a sell-off on Thursday, fuelled by a stronger dollar and profit-taking, spot gold rose slightly by 0.2% to $1,916.31 per ounce at 0233 GMT. U.S. gold futures were little changed at $1,915.80. According to Yeap Jun Rong, market analyst at IG, “with the gold price having performed exceptionally well by more than 20% over the past three months, it is possible that some positioning in favor of a lower rate hike has already been in play and has found the long-awaited validation at the recent FOMC meeting.” For its part, palladium increased by 0.1% to $1,655.60. For its part, platinum fell by 0.1% to $1,020.51, and cash rose by 0.3% to $23,5232 per ounce.