Gold prices slipped on Friday as elevated US Treasury yields dimmed non-yielding bullion’s allure in a holiday-thinned week, with markets focused on President-elect Donald Trump’s return to office and the potential impact of his inflationary policies on the Fed’s 2025 outlook.

Gold prices rose on Thursday in holiday-thinned trade, while markets await clues on the Federal Reserve’s 2025 rate plan and tariff policies from the incoming Trump administration.

Democratic Republic of Congo has freed 14 of the 17 Chinese men arrested on suspicion of running an illegal gold mine in the country, authorities said late on Tuesday.

Gold traded in a narrow band as traders weighed the prospect of a slower pace of interest-rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve next year.

Seventeen Chinese men have been arrested on suspicion of running an illegal gold mine in Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities said there on Friday, as the government pressed on with a crackdown on unlicensed extraction of its minerals.

New Murchison Gold (NMG) has entered into an ore purchase agreement with Westgold Resources in a bid to increase production at its Crown Prince gold deposit near Meekatharra, Western Australia.

Tensions between the US and China may weigh on energy and commodities markets next year, while the outlook remains bright for gold, ING Groep NV said.

Barrick Gold Corp. is seeking buyers for its Tongon gold mine in the Ivory Coast in an effort to sell the aging operation when bullion prices are surging.

The world’s biggest gold miner, Newmont Corp., is further reducing its corporate workforce as part of an effort to trim costs.

Gold has scope to push higher next year, likely hitting a record, as the Federal Reserve cuts rates and central banks add bullion to reserves, according to Macquarie Group Ltd.