Gold edged toward $1,760 an ounce on Friday, rising for the third straight session to its highest in three weeks, as a negative US GDP data prompted markets to scale back hawkish expectations from the Federal Reserve. The US economy contracted for a second straight quarter, fueling recession fears and raising expectations that the Fed may need to slow down the pace of interest rate hikes. The data was released a day after the US central bank raised its policy rate by 75 basis points in a widely expected move, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell saying that it will likely become appropriate to slow the pace of rate increases depending on the flow of data. Meanwhile, gold prices are still set to decline for the fourth straight month, having faced constant pressure since mid-March from a rallying dollar and US bond yields.
