Gold rebounds after growth fear triggers sell-off

A gold bar is shown next to coins

SINGAPORE, March 23 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged up on Friday, after hitting a two-month low in the previous session on global growth concerns triggered by weak manufacturing data from both China and the euro zone. FUNDAMENTALS * Spot gold edged up 0.1 percent to $1,646.89 an ounce by 0031 GMT, on course for its fourth consecutive week of losses with a 0.4-percent decline. * U.S. gold gained 0.3 percent to $1,647. * Worries about faltering global growth hit equities and commodities after weak data on manufacturing activity in China and the euro zone. * Weighing on market sentiment, SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.59 percent, or 7.553 tonnes, to 1,282.69 tonnes on Thursday. It was the biggest one-day drop in tonnage terms in three months. * The number of Americans claiming new unemployment benefits dropped to a four-year low last week, bolstering hopes a recent pick-up in job growth will prove lasting.


 * U.S. Treasury debt prices rose on Thursday, retracing some of their recent losses, as a decline in manufacturing in China and the euro zone's two largest economies raised demand for safe-haven assets including government debt. * For the top stories on metals and other news, click , or MARKET NEWS * Cyclical sectors led U.S. stocks lower on Thursday, setting the S&P 500 up for its first negative week in six, after factory data showed a slowdown in both the euro zone and China. * The safe-haven yen held on to overnight gains in Asia on Friday, having risen across the board as investors gave risk currencies like the Australian dollar a wide berth on worries about the health of the global economy. DATA/EVENTS 1400 U.S. New Home Sales Feb 1930 U.S. CFTC commitment of traders Weekly PRICES Precious metals prices 0031 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume Spot Gold 1646.89 2.01 +0.12 5.31 Spot Silver 31.62 0.07 +0.22 14.19 Spot Platinum 1627.69 13.64 +0.85 16.85 Spot Palladium 655.67 6.92 +1.07 0.49 COMEX GOLD APR2 1647.00 4.50 +0.27 5.12 2530 COMEX SILVER MAY2 31.65 0.30 +0.96 13.36 937 Euro/Dollar 1.3207 Dollar/Yen 82.67 COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months (Reporting by Rujun Shen; Editing by Himani Sarkar)