Gold falls in Europe

Gold fell on Friday and held on track for its first weekly loss of the year as persistent dollar strength prompted some traders to cash in on this week's rally to two-month highs. The dollar was 0.1 percent up against a basket of currencies on Friday, hanging on to positive territory despite data showing US economic growth slowed more than expected in the fourth quarter.
That helped to pull gold further down from Tuesday's high of $1,219.59 an ounce and set it on track to end a four-week winning streak with a 2 percent weekly loss.
Spot gold was down 0.2 percent at $1,185.15 an ounce by 1458 GMT, while US gold futures for February delivery were $4.80 an ounce lower at $1,185.00.
"The dollar is being a big influence on gold right now, so that's what's behind the current move," ING analyst Hamza Khan said. "But overall I think the weeks of gains we've had are more indicative than this pull-back, which might just be due to people locking in some profits and waiting for the Fed meetings before they get long again."
Analysts have scaled back expectations for gold prices this year after the metal's weak fourth-quarter performance, with the prospect of further US interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve weighing on sentiment.
Some have also suggested that President Donald Trump administration's commitment to higher spending and lower taxes will boost growth, fuelling a rally in cyclical assets such as stocks and industrial metals at gold's expense.
Gold demand in India improved this week, boosted by a fall in prices overseas, though some consumers are waiting in the hope that import duty will be cut in the government's budget next week.
The absence of buyers elsewhere in Asia during the Lunar New Year holiday, particularly in top gold consumer China, has weighed on the metal, dealers said.
"Most of Asia is already off for the holidays, which is a good time for many to short the metal," said Ronald Leung, chief dealer at Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong. "You can see the bids are very weak, which shows the demand right now."
Silver was down 0.3 percent at $16.71 an ounce, while platinum was 0.4 percent lower at $970.10. Palladium was up 0.7 percent at $726.20, having earlier hit its lowest since January 4 at $708.97. The autocatalyst metal is down 7.6 percent this week, its worst weekly performance since January last year.