Gold prices fell on Thursday, to head for the second daily loss on profit-taking from a 1-week high, while the US dollar recovered against its peers.

Gold prices fell 0.7% to $1,812.57 an ounce, after opening at $1,825.84, and hit a high of $1,828.01.

The yellow metal lost 1% yesterday, and posted its first daily loss in 5 days on profit-taking from a 1-week high of $1,855.38.

The dollar index rose 0.3% today, in recovery attempts from a 2-week low of 90.25 points, which weighs down on the prices of gold and other dollar-denominated metals.

Demand for the US dollar have been renewed amid growing concerns about the global economic recovery this year, especially after the European Commission slashed the Euro-area growth outlook for 2021, and weak jobs data in the US.

Gold stocks at the SPDR ETF fell 4.38 metric tonnes yesterday, with the total at the lowest level since June 12 of 1,142.22 metric tonnes.

European stocks fell on Friday, to resume losses after taking a breather yesterday, weighed down by the mining sector due to concerns over the Covid-19 vaccinations and the global economic recovery.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.3% as of 09:05 GMT, after it closed higher by 0.5% yesterday and posted the first gain in 3 days thanks to a rally in the tech sector.

The mining sector saw the largest losses in Europe today, falling around 1.5%, due to a drop in the prices of most dollar-denominated metals and commodities.

The markets are still focused on the latest updates regarding the ongoing Covid-19 vaccination campaigns around the world, as the process remains very slow and narrow compared to the widespread spread of infections.

The slow vaccination efforts ebb hopes for fast recovery of the global economy during.

S&P 500 futures fell 0.3%, and jumped to all-time record high after the index closed higher by 0.2% yesterday at Wall Street.

Back to Europe, the Euro Stoxx 50 index fell 0.4%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.4%, the UK's FTSE 100 fell 0.3%, and Germany DAX index fell 0.6%

EUR/USD fell in European trade away from two-week highs on profit-taking, amid worries about European economic recovery as growth forecasts decline for 2021. 

EUR/USD fell 0.2% to 1.2105, after closing up 0.1% yesterday, marking two-week highs at 1.2150.

The European Commission cut its forecasts for euro zone growth this year amid new changes in the coronavirus pandemic. 

The Commission now expects 3.8% growth in 2021, down from 4.2% before. 

Euro is still up 0.5% on the dollar this week, on track for the first weekly profit in three. 

Dollar is losing its haven appeal in the markets, while traders raced to buy up the euro after slipping below $1.2. 

The Japanese yen fell against the US dollar on Thursday amid focus on the US stimulus talks.

Most countries around the world are still trying to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, as the number of infections surpassed 108 million cases.

Many countries started to administer promising vaccines, led by the Pfizer-BoiNTech vaccine, AstraZeneca's vaccine and Moderna's vaccine.

Investors are still anticipating the US Congress to pass the $1.9 trillion Covid relief plan proposed by President Joe Biden.

As of 20:42 GMT, USD/JPY fell 0.1% to 104.7, after hitting a high of 104.8 and a low of 104.5.