Gold held steady on Friday en route to its first weekly loss in three, pressured by gains in the American dollar, but kept above the $1,300 level by concerns over economic growth in Europe and elsewhere.
Spot gold was steady at $1,310.46 U.S. per ounce, after hitting its lowest since Jan. 29 at $1,302.11 on Thursday.
U.S. gold futures were up about 0.1% at $1,314.70 U.S.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against major currencies, was on course for its first weekly gain in three and was trading close to a two-week high, taking some shine off gold.
While bullion has risen about 13% since touching over year-and-a-half lows in August, mostly due to volatile stock markets and a dovish U.S. Federal Reserve, a strong dollar has driven gold down about 0.6% so far this week.
Gold denominated in euros climbed to its highest since early May 2017, at 1,157.37 euros per ounce, in the previous session after the European Commission cut its forecasts for euro zone economic growth this year and next.
The Commission cited global trade tensions and China's slowdown as the main drags on the European Union's economy.
Worries about a global slowdown and the lack of any sign of a resolution to the U.S.-China trade row dragged global shares down for a third day.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he did not plan to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping before a March 1 deadline set by the two countries to achieve a trade deal.
Among other precious metals, palladium rose 0.5% to $1,392.20 U.S. an ounce.
Spot silver gained about 0.1% to $15.73 U.S. and platinum tallied 0.1% to reach $795.86 per ounce.
