Gold settled modestly higher on physical buying on Friday as the dollar firmed after the U.S. Federal Reserve hinted at an interest rate hike in the first half of 2015.
Bullion briefly touched a six-month high of $1,391.76 on Monday on tensions in Ukraine and concerns about growth in China before investors booked profits and turned their attention to safe haven U.S. dollar.
Chart: Precious Metals
U.S. gold futures settled $5.50 or 0.4 percent higher, at $1,336.00 an ounce, down 3.4 percent on the week.
Meanwhile, spot gold gained 0.5 percent to $1,335, having fallen to $1,320.24 on Thursday, its weakest since end-February.
Low interest rates, which cut the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion above other assets, had been a key factor driving bullion to all-time highs in recent years.
A "golden cross" on the chart of spot bullion following a three-month rally suggests prices could climb further this year even after the Federal Reserve is set to keep trimming its bond-buying stimulus, analysts said.
For more information on precious metals prices, please click here.