Gold heads for weekly decline ahead of Chinese economic data

[SINGAPORE] Gold headed for its first weekly drop in three as investors await a string of Chinese economic data releases later Friday.

Bullion for immediate delivery fell 0.2 per cent to US$1,225.54 an ounce at 8:51 am in Singapore after prices dropped 1.2 per cent on Thursday, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. The metal is also down 1.2 per cent for the week, though 16 per cent higher on the year.

Gold's rally in 2016 has been spurred by demand for haven assets amid concerns over Chinese growth and turmoil in financial markets.

The world's second-largest economy's reports on gross domestic product, retail sales and factory output will be closely watched after data this week showed the country's exports jumped the most in a year, suggesting its economy is stabilizing.

"Q1 GDP and March data is likely to show China is rebalancing, supporting risk," Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd said in a note Friday.

BLOOMBERG