Investing.com - Gold prices fell on Friday while the dollar also slipped. The World Gold Council (WGC) said on Friday that central banks boosted their spending on gold to the highest level in almost three years.
Gold futures for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange slipped 0.2% at $1,235.7 a troy ounce by 1:50 AM ET (05:50 GMT).
The WGC said global central banks purchased around 148 metric tons of gold in the period of July to September, a rise of 22% compared to the same period last year. Citing the report, Bloomberg said Russia's central bank led the buying, purchasing more than 92 tons of gold.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies slid 0.8% to 96.16.
The dollar was under pressure this week as global equity markets rebounded. Chinese and Hong Kong stocks gained around 2% in morning trade on Friday, while other major indices in Asia also advanced.
Looking ahead, investors will likely focus on the closely-watched U.S. jobs report due later in the day.
Elsewhere, trade tension between U.S. and China returned to focus after U.S. President Donald Trump said in a tweet that the conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping was “productive.”
"Those discussions are moving along nicely," Trump wrote on Twitter Thursday. "Also had good discussion on North Korea!" Trump and Xi are due to meet at the G-20 summit later this month.
Trump said the door is still open for U.S.-China trade talks, just days after reports said he was considering imposing tariffs on all remaining Chinese imports by early December if discussions between the two leaders do not go well.