Gold steadies, heads for third straight weekly gain

Aug 21 (Reuters) - Gold held steady ‌on Friday but ​was on ​track for a third straight weekly gain, buoyed by a weaker dollar and U.S. Treasury Department efforts to hold down longer-term yields.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was ‌little changed at $4,514.23 per ounce, as of 0031 GMT, after hitting its ⁠highest level since early June in the previous session. Prices were up 3.2% for the week.

* U.S. gold ‌futures steadied at $4,571.20.

* The U.S. dollar ‌was headed for a weekly loss, making dollar-priced commodities cheaper for holders of other currencies.

* U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday he may further increase the ​government's repurchases of Treasuries. The Treasury on Wednesday announced that it would double the size of buybacks on longer-dated securities over the next quarter to at least $4 billion ⁠per operation.

* Two Federal Reserve officials expressed caution when asked how the Treasury Department's debt management changes could affect the ​U.S. central bank's monetary policy choices.

* Data showed the number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits slipped last week, suggesting that the labor ​market remains stable despite a surprise drop in ‌employment in July and leaving the Fed in a position to keep its focus on containing inflation.

* Markets are pricing in a 64% chance ⁠that the Fed will keep rates unchanged in September and a 36% chance of a hike, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

* Although gold is regarded as a hedge against turmoil and inflation, ⁠higher interest rates weigh on its appeal as a non-yielding asset.

* On the geopolitical front, Bessent said ​the United States will impose "the toughest sanctions in history" on Iran, a move he suggested would lessen the need for new major military operations.

* Among other metals, spot silver was flat at $68.03 per ounce. ‌Platinum rose 01.1% to $1,846.29, while palladium steadied at $1,333.11. All three metals headed for weekly gains.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0600 UK Retail Sales MM, YY Jul

0600 UK Retail Sales Ex-Fuel MM ‌Jul

0645 France Business Climate Mfg, Overall Aug

0715 France S&P MFG, Services, Composite Flash PMI Aug

0730 Germany S&P MFG, Services, ⁠Composite Flash PMI Aug

0800 EU S&P MFG, Services, ‌Composite Flash PMI Aug

0830 UK ​Flash Composite, Manufacturing, Services PMI Aug

1345 US S&P Global Mfg, Svcs, Comp PMI Flash Aug

1400 EU Consumer Confid. Flash Aug

(Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by ‌Rashmi Aich)

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