(Kitco News) - Gold prices spiked to session highs after the latest quarterly data showed the U.S. economy slowing to start to the year, while inflation pressures also saw an uptick.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis announced on Thursday that the preliminary reading of Q1 GDP showed that the economy grew 1.3% in the first three months of the new year, lower than the advance reading of 1.6% and down from 3.4% reported in the fourth quarter.
The data was in line with expectations as the consensus forecast of economists was for a reading of 1.3%.
The gold market saw buying pressure following the publication of the growth data. Spot gold rallied to a session high of $2,345.26 an ounce in the minutes following the GDP release, and last traded at $2,341.25, up 0.13% on the session.
According to some analysts, gold investors will be focused on hotter-than-expected inflation data.
Core Personal Consumption Expenditures increased 3.6%, compared with the 3.4% in the advance estimate and the 2.0% seen in the last quarter. The PCE price index increased 3.3%, compared to the 1.8% reported in the fourth quarter.
