Gold recovered from a three-year trough on Friday as lower prices attracted Chinese buyers and as Asian stocks fell, but the metal was still headed for its worst week in nearly two years after the Federal Reserve said it would curb stimulus. Spot gold was up 1.5 percent at $1,297.01 an ounce by 0617 GMT on Friday. The metal earlier fell to $1,268.89 - its lowest since September 2010 and a level which would have marked the worst weekly decline in 30 years if it had ended the day there.