Gold traded narrowly in Asia on Friday with the market treading water ahead of views from the U.S. Fed chief later in the day expected to set the tone.

Gold for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange swung between small gains and losses, last up 0.02% to $1,325.35 a troy ounce, while silver futures for September gained 0.06% to $18.517 a troy ounce. Copper futures for September on the Comex rose 0.10% to $2.078 a pound.

Earlier, In Japan, national core CPI fell 0.5% year-on-year for July more than the 0.4% decline seen, while national CPI eased 0.4% as expected in data that is now calculated under a 2015 base year with updated weightings. The core figure was the the fifth straight drop after a 0.4% decline in June.
Retailers are cautious about raising prices in broad sectors after last year's price hikes amid uncertainty over global and domestic growth. Slow wage hikes are also clouding the prospects for the Bank of Japan's achieving its stable 2% inflation target.

Source: Investing.com