Gold drops to 8-week low

LONDON: Gold slid to an eight-week low on Friday and was heading for a fourth consecutive weekly drop as growing speculation that the Federal Reserve will press ahead with interest rate hikes hurt investor demand.
Spot gold was down 0.3 percent at $1,215.39 an ounce at 1340 GMT, off an earlier low of $1,211.30. US gold futures for June delivery were down $4.10 an ounce at $1,216.30.
Silver touched its lowest in nearly six weeks at $16.12, and was later down 0.3 percent at $16.25 an ounce. Platinum was down 0.6 percent at $982.40 an ounce after touching its weakest in over a month at $977.40.
and was on track for its biggest weekly decline since Jan. 15. Palladium was 0.6 percent higher at $545.60.
Gold remains up 15 percent this year after a sharp first-quarter rally, but has fallen nearly 5 percent since the US Federal Reserve’s minutes were released last week.
The metal fell for seven straight sessions to Thursday, its longest run of losses in more than six months, after minutes of the Fed’s policy meeting indicated that a rate rise may be on the cards sooner rather than later.
That view has been consistently supported by central bank officials this week.