Gold gains ground as dollar scales week highs

Gold futures titled higher in Asian trade even as the dollar index plumbed September 27 lows, following earlier data from China, the world's largest metals consumer, and the US. 

As of 04:51 GMT, gold futures due in December rose 0.05% to$1,230.70 an ounce, while the dollar index added 0.05% to 95.95, marking October 9 highs. 

Earlier Chinese data showed the seasonally adjusted reading for third-quarter GDP growth down to 1.6% as expected from 1.8%, and also down to 6.5% y/y from 6.7%, the slowest such pace since the financial crisis. 

The unemployment rate fell to 4.9% from 5% in August, while retail sales rose 9.2% y/y, as industrial production slowed down to 5.8% from 6%. 

Now investors await US housing data, with existing home sales expected with a 0.9% drop to 5.29 million units, compared to no change in August. 

The Federal Reserve recently released the minutes of its September 25-26 meeting, at which the Federal Open Market Committee voted to increase interest rates by 25 basis points for the third time this year to just below 2.25% as expected, while carrying on plans to normalize the balance sheet. 

The Fed forecast another rate hike this year, and three more next year, and another in 2020, as the economy blisters ahead. 

US President Donald Trump accused the Federal Reserve of causing a sharp correction in markets with its interest rate policy, considering it too strict and a "mistake". 

Otherwise, the International Monetary Fund cut its forecasts for global growth for this year and the next for the first time in two years, with US and Chinese economies the most important downgrades alongside the euro zone due to rising trade protectionism.