* Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust fell 0.8% on Thursday
* Platinum heads for biggest weekly gain in six (Recasts, adds comments, and updates prices)
Sept 24 (Reuters) - Gold prices firmed on Friday after falling 1% in the previous session, as concerns over China Evergrande’s debt woes drove some investors towards safe-haven bullion while a weaker dollar also lifted the metal’s allure for holders of other currencies.
Spot gold was up 0.6% at $1,752.20 per ounce, as of 0349 GMT, after hitting its lowest since Aug. 11 at $1,737.46 on Thursday. U.S. gold futures rose 0.1% to $1,752.00.
But, U.S. Federal Reserve’s signal on an earlier-than-expected rate hike kept gold prices on track for a weekly decline.
A hike in interest rates translate to higher opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.
“Asian investors could be building gold to protect against undesirable developments in the Evergrande saga over the weekend,” Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst for Asia Pacific at OANDA said, adding that gold is likely to trade in a $1,740-$1,780 range in the near-term.
Though risk appetite drove gains on the Wall Street, Asian stock markets were on edge as investors fretted over the fate of debt-laden property developer China Evergrande as an interest payment deadline approached.
Meanwhile, the dollar index languished near a one-week low touched on Thursday.
“With global central banks pretty much committing now to a dynamic taper that brings forward rate hikes and that should ultimately be negative for gold,” Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management said.
The Bank of England said on Thursday the case for higher interest rates “appeared to have strengthened.”
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, dropped 0.8% to 992.65 tonnes on Thursday from 1,000.79 tonnes on Wednesday.
Silver climbed 0.8% to $22.67 per ounce and was up 1.2% for the week so far.
Palladium rose 0.7% to $1,996.94, though was on track for a third straight weekly decline.
Platinum slipped 0.7% to $982.47. The metal, however, was headed for a 4.3% weekly gain, its biggest in six weeks. (Reporting by Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
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PRECIOUS-Gold prices firm as soft dollar, Evergrande crisis lift safe-haven appeal - Reuters
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