Gold struggled to rise above $1,700 an ounce on Friday and prices headed for their third consecutive weekly drop, as investors cautiously watched US talks to avoid a looming fiscal calamity that have so far made little progress. Spot gold inched up 0.1 percent to $1,698.44 an ounce by 0727 GMT, after an almost 1 percent drop on Thursday. Prices were headed for a 0.3-percent weekly drop. US gold edged up 0.2 percent to $1,700.30.