Gold prices worldwide were set for a second weekly gain as talks between Russia and Ukraine made little apparent progress, although bullion saw a dip on Friday as elevated U.S. Treasury yields on the back of inflation data assuaged its safe-haven appeal.
Spot gold weakened 0.2% at $1,992.94 U.S. per ounce, overnight Thursday to Friday. U.S. gold futures were flat at $2,000.10.
Bullion gained about 1.2% so far this week.
In world events, there was no breakthrough in the first high-level talks between foreign ministers from Russia and Ukraine, who met in Turkey on Thursday since Moscow invaded its neighbor.
Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields rose on Thursday and topped 2% for the first time in two weeks after U.S. inflation data confirmed rapidly rising prices, locking in expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next week.
Gold is highly sensitive to rising U.S. interest rates, which increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.
Moreover, the European Central Bank took a hawkish turn on Thursday saying it would end its asset purchases this summer, paving the way for a rate hike later in the year.
In other metals, palladium, used by automakers in catalytic converters to curb emissions, was down 0.5% at $2,914.78 U.S. per ounce. The metal hit a record high of $3,440.76 on Monday, driven by fears of supply disruptions from top producer Russia.
Spot silver shed 0.7% to $25.70 U.S. per ounce, while platinum fell 0.6% to $1,062.01, set for its worst weekly decline since November 2021.