Gold settles higher as dollar backs off two-week high

Gold futures tilted higher in American trade on track for the third weekly profit in a row, while the dollar index backed off October 9 highs, following earlier data from China, the world's largest metals consumer, and the US. 

As of 01:59 GMT, gold futures due in December rose 0.03% to $1,230.50 an ounce, while the dollar index shed a meager 0.05% to 95.85, still on track for weekly gains.

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%. 

People's Bank of China Governor noted in recent remarks that there's still some distance to go with changing interest rates and reserve requirements to prop up the economy, while warning that risks from the US-China trade dispute continue to weigh on outlook.  

Otherwise, US existing home sales fell 3.4% in September to an annualized 5.15 million units, compared to a 0.2% dip in August to 5.33 million, while analysts expected a 0.9% drop to 5.29 million units. 

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". 

On another note, 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. 

Otherwise, Gold holdings at SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed investment fund, steadied on Thursday at 748.76 tonnes, the highest since August 31, after prices marked the sixth monthly loss in a row in September, the longest such losing streak since late 1996.