Investing.com - Gold and the U.S. dollar, both considered as safe-haven assets these days, gained on Friday in Asia following the release of weak U.S. retail sales and China inflation data.
In futures trading, gold's benchmark April contract on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange was up $2.75, or 0.2%, at $1,316.65 per ounce.
The precious metal attracted some safe-haven bids today after the Commerce Department reported U.S. retail sales tumbled 1.2% in December. Economists had forecast a gain of 0.1% for the period.
In Asia, China’s January Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) both missed expectations, the National Bureau of Statistics reported on Friday, furthering dampening investor sentiment.
Elsewhere, reports that China and the U.S. have not been making much progress during trade talks this week also supported the yellow metal.
Risk appetite improved temporarily earlier this week following reports that U.S. President Donald Trump was considering a 60-day extension to the March 1 deadline requiring China to reach a trade deal with the U.S.
Gold prices have risen more than 12% since touching more than 1-1/2-year lows in mid-August, mostly on expectations of a pause in Federal Reserve rate hikes. But gold's run-up has lost steam since last month when futures peaked at a 2019 high of $1,331.10.
Lower rates are disadvantageous to interest-bearing assets such as the dollar, but work in favor of commodities like gold that offer a store of value to investors.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, edged up 0.1% to 96.885.