Gold at 3-month low

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NEW YORK/LONDON: Gold slid one percent to a three-month low on Friday, extending losses after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen indicated the U.S. central bank could raise interest rates within months if the economy continues to improve, boosting the dollar.

"The economy is continuing to improve ...growth looks to be picking up," Yellen said in remarks in Boston. "If that continues and if the labor market continues to improve, and I expect those things to occur ...in the coming months such a move would be appropriate."  The remarks lifted the U.S. dollar index to a two-month high. "You couldn't really say it was uber hawkish, but it keeps the door open for a July hike, and as far as gold is concerned, that means that there was a bit of a higher cost of carry in U.S. dollar terms," said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategy for TD Securities in Toronto.

Spot gold was down 0.9 percent at $1,208.90 an ounce at 3:01 p.m. EDT (1901 GMT), off an earlier low of $1,206.45, the lowest level since Feb. 22. It was on track to close the week down 3.5 percent, the biggest fall since early November and the fourth straight weekly decline after minutes of the Fed's latest policy meeting indicated last week that a rate rise may be on the cards sooner rather than later.