Gold nudges up but on track for worst month since November 2016

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Gold prices edged up early Friday after slipping to a more than six-month low in the previous session, as the dollar softened from recent highs, but the yellow metal was headed for its worst monthly performance since November 2016.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,248.64 an ounce, as of 0053 GMT. It touched its weakest since Dec. 13 at $1,245.32 on Thursday.

* Bullion was on track for its third straight weekly decline, having slipped 1.6 percent thus far and was down about 3.8 percent for the month. It was also heading towards its worst quarterly loss since end-2016.

* U.S. gold futures were 0.1 percent lower at $1,249.90 an ounce.

* The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, inched down 0.1 percent at 95.264. It hit a near one-year high at 95.531 on Thursday. [USD/]

* 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 labour market and tax cuts.

* Tight U.S. labour 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, St. Louis Fed president James Bullard said on Thursday.

* The fiscal boost to the U.S. economy is likely to fade over a year or two, something that should make the Fed more cautious in continuing to raise interest rates, Bullard said.

* U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet for their first summit on July 16 in Helsinki, a venue famed for its Cold War diplomacy.

* China unveiled on Thursday a long-anticipated easing of foreign investment curbs on sectors including banking, the automotive and heavy industries and agriculture as Beijing moved to fulfil its promise to open its markets further.

* The outlook for global growth has weakened in recent weeks and risks are skewed to the downside, due in part to increased protectionism, the European Central Bank said on Thursday.

* Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane said on Thursday his unexpected vote to raise interest rates this month should not be considered "surprising or radical" after a decade of ultra-loose monetary policy.

(Reporting by Karen Rodrigues in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair)