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By Bloomberg

Gold declined, extending a second weekly retreat, as investors await next week’s Federal Reserve meeting amid signs of uneven growth in the U.S.

Bullion for immediate delivery lost 0.2 percent to $1,191.73 an ounce at 12:04 p.m. in Singapore after rising 0.6 percent on Thursday, the most in a week, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. The metal is set to drop 1 percent this week after touching $1,184.45 on Thursday, the lowest since April 14. Gold in Shanghai advanced, trimming a weekly retreat.

Purchases of new U.S. homes slumped more than forecast in March, while sales of existing homes jumped and jobless claims held below 300,000 for a seventh week, reports this week showed. The Fed wants to see signs of growth and inflation on the rise before committing to the first interest-rate increase in almost a decade. Officials meet April 28-29.

“Gold’s rebound signals that it is unwilling to give up the $1,200 level, and may consider trending only after the FOMC,” Howie Lee, an investment analyst at Phillip Futures Pte in Singapore, wrote in a note. “Should the FOMC minutes prove hawkish, we may expect gold to fall swiftly and embark on a new downtrend to $1,145.”

While the Fed has ruled out raising rates when it next meets, policy makers have left the door open to move in June. Rates are set by the Federal Open Market Committee, known as the FOMC, and the minutes of its April 28-29 meeting are scheduled for release on May 20.

A Chinese manufacturing gauge fell to a 12-month low in April, while a preliminary index in the U.S. reached a three- month low, reports on Thursday showed. Growth in euro-area manufacturing and services slowed in April.

U.S. Data

The U.S. data on new home purchases followed a report from the National Association of Realtors on Wednesday that showed sales of existing homes jumped in March to the highest since September 2013. An average 284,500 workers a week filed claims for jobless benefits over the past month, according to Labor Department data issued Thursday. The 282,500 average reached in early April was the lowest since June 2000.

Gold for June delivery declined 0.3 percent to $1,190.90 an ounce on the Comex, set for a second weekly loss. Bullion of 99.99 percent purity added 0.4 percent to 237.95 yuan a gram ($1,194.18 an ounce) on the Shanghai Gold Exchange.

Silver for immediate delivery fell 0.3 percent to $15.8421 an ounce to head for a third weekly decline, the longest run since Jan. 2. Platinum lost 0.3 percent to $1,133.88 an ounce, down 3.2 percent this week. Palladium retreated 0.2 percent to $769.90 an ounce, set for a weekly drop.