Gold was heading for its sharpest weekly drop in more than two months as strong US economic data and uncertainty over the timing of the rollback of the Federal Reserve's stimulus measures sent the metal to its lowest since early July. Spot gold had risen slightly to $1,243.71 an ounce by 0735 GMT on Friday, after hitting a fresh four and a half month low of $1,236.29 the session before. Gold and silver were both on track for a near 4-percent weekly drop.