Gold prices are holding strong on Friday, preparing to to record the seventh consecutive week of growth. The reason remains fears of a global trade war.

On Thursday, Trump instructed his economic team to prepare a plan of reciprocal tariffs against countries that impose duties on U.S. exports, including China, Japan, South Korea and the EU. As for inflation, data on the U.S. producer price index (PPI) released on Thursday showed a a significant increase for January. This followed a report on consumer prices, which recorded the fastest increase in 17 months. The acceleration in inflation has lowered expectations of an imminent Fed rate cut, suggesting that the regulator will keep current rates until the second half of the year. Such expectations support the US dollar and limit the growth of gold quotations.