Gold prices rose on Thursday, extending gains for the second day in a row, near a 3-week high, as the US dollar fell against a basket of currencies, ahead of the release of key data on the US personal consumption expenditures and consumer spending during November.

Gold prices rose more than 0.25% to $1,808.40, after opening at $1,804.10, and hit a day high at $1,803.00.

Gold closed higher by 0.8% yesterday, the first daily gain in 4 days, thanks to a drop in the US dollar.

The dollar index fell less than 0.1% today, deepening losses for the fourth day in a row, and hit a 1-week low at 96.02 points.

The greenback fell after an unexpected blow to President Joe Biden's spending plans, after moderate Democratic Senator Joe Manchin said he would not support the $1.75 trillion domestic investment bill.

"I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation," said Joe Manchin who is key to President Joe Biden's hopes of passing the bill.

Investors await a slew of major data in the US later today, on personal consumption expenditures and consumer spending during November, which provide cues on the growth pace and inflation rate in the world's largest economy.

Gold stocks at the SPDR ETF fell 4.94 metric tonnes yesterday, with the total at the lowest level since April 2, 2020 of 973.63 metric tonnes.

Sterling rose in European trade against dollar for the third straight session, marking four-week highs as Omicron variant concerns fade in the UK.

GBP/USD rose 0.25% to 1.3387, the highest since November 24, with an intraday low at 1.3342, after closing up 0.7% yesterday, the second profit in a row, and the largest since September 23.

The dollar index fell 0.1% on Thursday, the fourth decline in a row, marking week lows at 96.02 against a basket of major rivals. 

After a prolonged UK government meeting, it ended up avoiding imposing further restrictions during Christmas.

The decision calmed down concerns over continued shutdown and economic fallout from the virus.

Britain was the first major G7 economies to raise interest rates since the start of the pandemic, by15 basis points to 0.25 to control inflation.

Oil prices rose on Wednesday, as the US dollar fell against most currencies, and extended gains after the release of US inventories data.

The Energy Information Administration reported today that the US crude inventories fell 4.7 million barrels to 423.6 million barrels during the past week, while analysts forecast a drop by 3.9 million barrels.

US oil production also fell 100,000 barrels per day last week, to a total of 11.6 million barrels per day.

While the American Petroleum Institute reported yesterday in preliminary data that the US crude inventories fell 3.67 million barrels during the same period.

The dollar index fell against a basket of major currencies by 0.4% to 96.08 points as of 20:13 GMT, after hitting a high of 96.6 points and a low of 96.04 points.

WTI January futures rose 2.3% or $1.64, and closed at $72.76 a barrel.

Brent February futures rose 1.8% or $1.31, and closed at $75.29 a barrel.

The US dollar fell against most currencies on Wednesday, despite the release of positive economic data, amid concerns about the Omicron variant.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki stated that US President Joe Biden does not plan to impose full lockdown restrictions due to the spread of the Omicron variant in several countries.

Psaki added that the Biden administration intends to send free coronavirus tests to Americans' homes, and will deploy medical personnel from the military to back up hospitals .

The British government reported the highest daily count of Covid infections, which is more than 106,000 cases yesterday due to the spread of Omicron.

The World Health Organization said that Omicron's ability to spread remains unknow compared to Delta.

The US Food and Drug Administration granted the emergency license to an antiviral treatment developed by Pfizer that reduced risk of hospitalization by.

The final reading of the US GDP showed a growth of 2.3% during the third quarter, beating forecasts of 2.1%.

The dollar index fell against a basket of major currencies by 0.4% to 96.08 points as of 20:13 GMT, after hitting a high of 96.6 points and a low of 96.04 points.