Gold edged lower on Friday as stocks firmed and the US dollar rose on expectations the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates by the end of the year.

Spot gold was down 0.2 per cent at $1,255.50 an ounce by 0715 GMT. The metal was on track to end the week mostly flat.

US gold futures fell 0.1 per cent at $1,256.80 an ounce.

"People are happy to buy at these levels. But, there are a lot of expectations of a Fed rate hike in December, which will be bearish for gold,” said Ronald Leung, chief dealer, Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.

There will also be some uncertainty going into the elections, said Leung, adding that if Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton wins over Republican Donald Trump then the dollar could strengthen and pull gold down.

Spot gold may consolidate further in a narrow range of $1,250-$1,266 per ounce for one day before falling to the October 7 low of $1,241.20, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.

Retail sales data, Yellen's speech

Markets will next look to Friday's US retail sales data and remarks from Fed Chair Janet Yellen, who will address a Boston Fed economics conference at which Boston Fed governor Eric Rosengren will also speak.

"We think its (Federal Reserve's) rate hiking trajectory will remain very much intact,” INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir said in a note.

"As a result, the dollar will likely push higher going into year-end, offering gold its most formidable headwind and even countering the impact of weaker equities.”

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, gained 0.4 per cent to 97.877.

Asian stocks bounced on Friday, erasing some losses from the previous day. Global equity markets had slumped to a three-month low on Thursday.

"Physical demand and geopolitical risk may be the main supporting planks of the gold market going forward,” HSBC analyst James Steel wrote in a note.

Holdings of the SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.28 per cent to 961.57 tonnes on Thursday.

Among other precious metals, silver slipped 0.2 per cent to $17.42 an ounce.

The metal was on track for its third consecutive weekly loss.

Platinum was down for a fifth straight session as it fell 0.4 per cent to $932.49 an ounce. The white metal is down over 3 per cent this week. Palladium was steady at $637.75 after having touched a new three-month low of $633.22 an ounce. The metal is down over 4 per cent this week.

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