Gold settles higher as dollar declines

Gold futures tilted higher in Asian trade as the dollar index backed off December 17 highs following earlier Chinese data and ahead of US data later today. 

As of 04:53 GMT, gold futures due in April rose 0.14% to $1,311.10 an ounce, while the dollar index shed 0.12% to 97.09. 

Earlier Chinese data showed trade surplus shrank to 271 billion yuan, while analysts expected 241 billion. 

Now investors await US retail sales data, with GDP growth expected down to 0.1% from 0.2%, while retail sales are expected at zero. 

Producer prices are expected up 0.1% m/m, and 2.1% y/y. 

Core prices are estimated up 0.2%, compared to a 0.1% dip in December, while unemployment claims are expected down 9 thousand to 225 thousand. 

Global Gold Council 

Global Gold Council's recent data showed purchases by global central banks rose to 1967 highs last year at 651.5 tonnes, up 74% from 2017 levels, with highest bidders being China, Poland, and Russia. 

The council estimated global consumption of gold rose to 4,345.1 tonnes last year from 4,159.9 tonnes, while jewels demand steadied at 2,200 tonnes. 

Demand from financial institutions on the other hand tumbled 67% from 2017 levels.