Gold futures settled unchanged at $1,826.2 on the last trading day of 2022, while spot gold rose 0.2% to $1,818.70. The yellow metal rose on Friday, as the non-yielding metal is on track to close the quarter at its highest level since June 2020, thanks to fewer rate hikes anticipated by the Federal Reserve following a drop from record highs earlier this year.
After back-to-back rate hikes by the U.S. central bank in September, gold prices fell to a more than two-year low, but have since rebounded. In response to rising inflation, the reaction of global central banks will determine market sentiment through 2023, according to Reuters economists.