• Australian gold stocks decline as much as 1.3%, breaking a four-day streak of gains to head for their worst day in a week

• Gold prices edge lower in Asian trading on Friday after tumbling more than 1% in the previous session, as persistent US inflation reinforced expectations of additional Federal Reserve interest rate hikes, denting demand for bullion [GOL/]

• Shares of Evolution Mining drop 0.3%, while Northern Star Resources gains 0.7% on the sub-index

• YTD, gold stocks down 8.5%

(Reporting by Subhalakshmi Dey in Bengaluru)