Gold prices moved higher on Friday, helped by a weaker U.S. dollar and fresh uncertainty over the pace of future rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for August delivery gained 0.47% to $1,255.23.

The August contract ended Thursday’s session 0.29% higher at $1,249.40 an ounce.

Futures were likely to find support at $1,241.70, Wednesday’s low and resistance at $1,268.50, the high from June 15.

The dollar weakened following a report on Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor showing that initial jobless claims in the week ending June 17 increased by 3,000 to 241,000 from the previous week’s total of 238,000.

Analysts expected jobless claims to rise by 2,000 to 240,000 last week.

Meanwhile, investors continued to evaluate the possibility of another rate hike from the Fed later this year in the wake of mixed messages from policymakers in recent days.

Last week, the U.S. central bank raised interest rates for the second time this year and maintained plans to go ahead with another rate hike by year-end.

Despite the Fed's relatively hawkish message, market players remained doubtful over the central bank's ability to raise rates as much as it would like in the coming months due to a recent run of disappointing U.S. economic data and indications of weak inflation.

The precious metal is sensitive to moves in U.S. rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion.