Gold bounced back from a three-month low on Thursday as the dollar and bond yields moved lower after U.S. economic data, offering investors respite from a 'hawkish pause' on interest rates by the Federal Reserve.
Spot gold last gained 0.78% to $1,958.1844 per ounce after having hit its lowest since March 17. U.S. gold futures settled 0.1% higher at $1,970.7.
U.S. initial jobless claims were unchanged at 262,000 for last week, while separate data showed industrial output dropped 0.2% in May, missing expectations for a 0.1% increase.
"That data is prompting some corrective price action from yesterday's strong price moves in the dollar index and in treasury yields and also some short covering," said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco, who saw gold prices trending sideways to lower in the near-term.
The dollar index slid 0.8% to a one-month low, while 10-year Treasury yields slipped, supporting demand for buck-priced, zero-interest-bearing bullion.
"But today's data is going to be overshadowed by the still long shadow of the FOMC meeting yesterday," Wyckoff said, adding that the three-month low hit overnight also put some technical selling pressure on gold.
The central bank's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, but signaled that borrowing costs may still need to rise by as much as half of a percentage point by the end of this year.
Markets now see 2-in-3 odds of the Fed hiking rates in July, according to the CME Fedwatch tool.
"Physical markets showing some signs of life into this current price weakness but the major driver here, once again, is the outlook for the Fed's hiking cycle," said StoneX analyst Rhona O'Connell.