Gold rises

Reuters

Bengaluru : Gold prices rose for a third straight session on a weaker dollar, with the precious metal on track for a fifth straight weekly gain.

Spot gold edged up 0.1 percent to $1,324 an ounce by 0100 GMT. Prices hit a near four-month high of $1,326.56 an ounce on Wednesday. Spot gold has risen 0.3 percent so far this week. U.S. gold futures were up 0.2 percent at $1,324.60 an ounce.

The dollar index , which measures the greenback against six rival currencies, was down 0.2 percent at 91.707, after earlier falling to its lowest since Sept. 20, 2017 at 91.689. The euro jumped against the dollar as the European Central Bank signalled it could begin to wind down its 2.5 trillion euro ($3.01 trillion) stimulus program this year.

The ECB should revisit its communication stance in early 2018, accounts of its December meeting showed, suggesting that policymakers could soon start preparing markets for the end of the bank´s massive stimulus.