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By Bloomberg

Gold held below $1,200 an ounce as investors weighed whether lackluster U.S. retail sales growth will prompt the Federal Reserve to delay raising rates after central bank officials indicated they are split over timing.

Bullion for immediate delivery traded at $1,191.47 an ounce at 11:17 a.m. in Singapore from $1,192.78 on Tuesday, when prices fell to $1,184.10, the lowest since April 1, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. Gold in Shanghai fell a second day as data on Wednesday showed the economy expanded in the first quarter at the weakest pace since 2009.

Gold dropped for five of the past six sessions amid speculation policy makers are still moving closer to boosting borrowing costs even after a first-quarter slowdown mainly caused by an unusually harsh winter. Rising rates curb gold’s appeal because the metal generally offers returns only through price gains. While U.S. retail sales rose for the first time in four months in March, the rebound missed estimates.

Gold “hit a two-week low intra-session overnight, before prices rebounded on disappointing U.S. data,” Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. wrote in a note. “Data over the rest of this week will become increasingly important, further misses will likely drive more sustained losses for the U.S. dollar.”

Retail sales increased 0.9 percent after a 0.5 percent drop in February, figures showed Tuesday. The median forecast of 87 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for a 1.1 percent advance. Reports this week are projected to show that industrial production contracted last month and the rise in consumer prices remains well below the Fed’s 2 percent target.

Near Zero

The Federal Open Market Committee was split at its meeting last month on when to begin raising rates from near zero. Several participants wanted to normalize policy starting in June, while others favored later in the year, minutes of the March 17-18 gathering show.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed after dropping 0.7 percent on Tuesday. China’s gross domestic product rose 7 percent in the three months through March from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said, matching the median estimate of economists and the leadership’s full-year target.

Gold for June delivery was at $1,190.70 on the Comex from $1,192.60 on Tuesday. Bullion of 99.99 percent purity dropped as much as 0.7 percent to 237.50 yuan a gram, the lowest since April 2, before trading at 238.41 yuan a gram ($11,94.27 an ounce) on the Shanghai Gold Exchange.

Silver for immediate delivery was little changed at $16.1585 an ounce after two days of losses. Palladium lost 0.1 percent to $764.53 an ounce, while platinum traded little changed at $1,150.50 an ounce.