Gold soars in Europe

Gold edged higher on Friday after US data showed economic growth braked sharply in the fourth quarter and the price of the precious metal was on track for its biggest monthly rise in a year after global economic headwinds hit riskier assets. The metal has risen nearly 5 percent in January, underpinned by concerns over the world's growth outlook, especially China, which has raised questions about the pace of interest rate rises in the United States.
"Maybe things won't be this bad next month in the wider markets, so it is possible that if ETF flows are subsiding, prices will be lower too," Macquarie analyst Matthew Turner said. "But one positive lesson we can learn from this month is that gold does still have a safe-haven role and that could stand it in good stead through a testing year to come."
Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,117.80 an ounce by 1538 GMT, while US gold for February delivery was up 0.1 percent at $1,117.70 an ounce. "On the upside, I would look for $1,150, while there seems to be some support at $1,100, especially after the more dovish tone of the Fed this week," MKS SA head of trading Afshin Nabavi said. The metal reached a 12-week high of $1,127.80 on Wednesday, after the Federal Reserve said it was closely watching the global economy and financial markets. This supported the view that US policymakers may not be able to raise interest rates again as soon as March.
Gold slid 10 percent last year on fears that higher US interest rates would lift the opportunity cost of holding the metal. Prices were supported despite a stronger dollar, which rose 1.2 percent against a basket of leading currencies on Friday, mainly due to a weak Japanese yen after the Bank of Japan stunned markets by joining a handful of major central banks in adopting negative interest rates.
The dollar's ascent accelerated after the release of the US gross domestic product report, which was in line with economists expectations, but showing a decline. US GDP grew at a 0.7 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter, after 2 percent growth in the third, but was near economists' revised expectations.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, New York-listed SPDR Gold Shares, reported an inflow in January. Spot silver was up 0.4 percent at $14.28 an ounce. Spot platinum rose 1.2 percent to $870.99 an ounce while palladium gained 1.4 percent to $496.65.