Gold gains as dollar dips, but set for worst month since November 2016

By Karen Rodrigues

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Gold prices rose on Friday after hitting a more than six-month low in the previous session as the dollar retreated from recent highs amid a rising euro, but the yellow metal looked set to post its sharpest monthly fall in 19 months.

Spot gold was 0.3 percent higher at $1,250.98 an ounce, as of 0649 GMT. On Thursday, it touched $1,245.32, its lowest since Dec. 13, 2017.

The dollar is still strong, so we expect gold prices to head down, said Brian Lan, managing director at dealer GoldSilver Central in Singapore.

"Gold is weak now and people are not looking to invest at this point of time," he said.

The yellow metal was on track for a third straight weekly decline, having slipped 1.4 percent so far this week. Spot gold was down about 3.6 percent for the month, heading for its biggest monthly drop since November 2016.

U.S. gold futures were up 0.1 percent at $1,252.50 an ounce.

The euro jumped more than a half cent after European Union leaders reached an agreement on migration, a thorny issue that has threatened EU unity and the fate of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

A stronger euro potentially boosts demand for gold by making dollar-priced bullion cheaper for European investors.

The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was down 0.6 percent at 94.856, after having risen to about one-year high on Thursday. But the index was up 5.4 percent this quarter, supported mainly by rising U.S. interest rates and an improving U.S. economy.

"There is feeling in some quarters that we may be nearing the bottom of this recent downturn," MKS PAMP Group trader Tim Brown wrote in a note.

Support-wise, gold appears fairly well bid around $1,245-$1,248 and there should be support at $1,237 and below that, Brown said.

The U.S. economy slowed more than previously estimated in the first quarter amid the weakest consumer spending in nearly five years, but growth appears to have since regained momentum on the back of a robust labor market and tax cuts.

However, St. Louis Fed president James Bullard on Thursday said tight U.S. labor markets could bring unemployment rates for blacks and Hispanics more in line with that of whites, another reason for the Federal Reserve to stop raising interest rates.

In other precious metals, spot silver gained about 1 percent to $16.05 an ounce. It was heading for its biggest weekly decline since the week ended April 27, down 2 percent for the week.

Palladium rose 0.6 percent to $949.82 an ounce.

Platinum was up 0.3 percent at $850 per ounce. It hit its lowest since January 2016 at $837.30 earlier in the session. It was down 9 percent for the quarter, its worst since the quarter ended December 2016.

(Reporting by Karen Rodrigues in Bengaluru; Editing by Vyas Mohan and Subhranshu Sahu)