Investing.com - Gold prices gained in Asia on Friday in a rebound following overnight declines on disappointing U.S. GDP data.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for August delivery traded at $1,258.50 a troy ounce, up 0.11%, after hitting an overnight session low of $1,251.60 and off a high of $1,260.60.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis revealed earlier that the U.S. gross domestic product contracted 1.0% in the first quarter, after a preliminary estimate showed growth of 0.1%.
Market expectations had been for a 0.5% contraction. It was the first decline in U.S. GDP since the first quarter of 2011.
Still, the report did contain some positive data.
Consumer spending, which drives more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, increased by 3.1%, up from the preliminary estimate of 3.0%.
Sentiments that rough winter weather bruised the economy in the first three months of the year as opposed to a major drop in demand supported the greenback as well, which softened gold as the two assets tend to trade inversely with one another.
Elsewhere, the National Association of Realtors reported that its pending home sales index rose 0.4% in April, missing expectations for a 1% gain.
Separately, the Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell by 27,000 to 300,000, exceeding expectations for a decline of 9,000.
Silver for July delivery rose 0.18% at $19.048 a troy ounce. Copper futures for July delivery gained 0.07% at $3.148 a pound.
On Friday, the U.S. is to round up the week with a report on personal income and expenditure as well as revised data from the University of Michigan on consumer sentiment.