Gold steadied after two days of losses on Friday, but was set for its biggest weekly slide in eight weeks on the back of a firmer dollar and indications from the U.S. Federal Reserve that it could raise interest raise rates sooner than expected.

SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.5 percent to 860.34 tonnes on Thursday, the highest since November 2013.

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Spot gold was little changed at $1,254.46 per ounce at 0348 GMT, near a three-week low of $1,244 reached in the previous session. The metal is down 1.5 percent for the week, its biggest drop since the week ended March 25.