Notwithstanding a decline, gold ended the week in gains for the first time in four weeks.
Gold futures on Multi Commodity Exchage closed at Rs 49,209 per 10 grams this week, refelcting losses in the international markets as investors booked profits from sharp gains in the previous sessions while equities rallied.
Nonetheless, on Friday, spot gold of the international benchmark closed at $1,838.10 an ounce, up 2.7% during the week, the first weekly gain after 4 weeks of decline. Platinum gained 2.6% to $1,056.03 per ounce and was on track for its best week since late March.
Data on US payrolls on Friday showed that the American economy added the fewest workers in six months in November, cementing expectations of more fiscal stimulus that lifted the US stock market's S&P 500 index to a record peak.
In India, Sensex crossed the 45,000-mark on Friday after RBI upgraded its GDP forecast for the country for FY21 to -7.5 percent from -9.5 percent projected earlier, post the monetary policy committee meet.
The RBI left the benchmark repo rate unchanged at 4%, in view of persistently high inflation and a lower-than-expected contraction of the economy. It has maintained its 'accommodative' stance on policy.
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