Gold steadies

London

Gold held steady early on Friday and was on track for a second consecutive weekly gain after easing from a three-week high hit in the previous session.

Spot gold edged down 0.04 percent to $1,243.80 per ounce at 0049 GMT after touching a three-week high on $1,247.48 an ounce in the previous session. It has risen about 1.3 percent for the week so far. U.S. gold futures for August delivery fell 0.15 percent to $1,243.60 per ounce.

The dollar headed for weekly losses on Friday, wallowing at its lowest levels against the euro in nearly two years after European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said policymakers would discuss changing its bond-buying programme in the autumn. The ECB left its ultra easy monetary policy unchanged on Thursday and did not even discuss clawing back stimulus, suggesting it may delay an inevitable decision on tapering bond buys until the latest possible moment.