Gold futures in New York reversed early losses and settled up 0.4 percent on Friday after the dollar fell on US data showing second-quarter economic growth slowed abruptly, analysts said.
The news raised expectations that the Federal Reserve might halt its two-year-old campaign of dollar-boosting interest-rate rises, which usually act to depress gold.
Benchmark December delivery gold ended up $2.30 at $647.80 an ounce at the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, after trading from $638 to $649.90.
A burst of trader short covering helped gold gain altitude as the greenback fell after the report pointing to slower US growth in the April-June quarter, though some traders took profits at higher prices and gold pared its gains.
Speculative players also continued to transfer their positions into December futures from nearby August gold before August delivery starts next week.
COMEX August rose $2.30 to finish at $634.80. Spot gold concluded the day at $635.40/636.40, up from Thursday's late New York quote $633.50/4.25. The afternoon bullion fix in London reached $637.10.
"Gold's fortunes over the next six or nine months may very much depend on investment interest from around the globe," he said. But he added that there were still enough geopolitical and economic doubts to sustain the speculative interest.
The United States is sending Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice back to the Middle East on Saturday for talks on a United Nations resolution to end the 17-day-old war between Israel and Lebanese Hizbollah guerrillas.
On the economic front, gross domestic product grew at a 2.5 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter, off from forecasts for 3 percent and less than half the robust 5.6 percent rate registered in the first quarter.
Separately, the University of Michigan US consumer sentiment index showed a final reading of 84.7 in July, compared with 84.9 in June. The current conditions index came in at 103.5. The dollar was last at $1.2751 against the euro. US crude oil fell 1.7 percent to $73.25 a barrel.
COMEX September silver shed 2.5 cents to settle at $11.3650 an ounce, within a $11.4550-$11.32 range. Spot silver eased 2.0 cents to $11.30/11.40. It fixed at $11.34.
NYMEX October platinum fell $8.30 to finish at $1,233.70 an ounce. Spot platinum reached $1,220/1,224. September palladium lost $6.30 to $314.50 an ounce. Spot palladium was indicated at $310/315, an area where it had spent much of the week.
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