Spot gold was down 0.4% at US$1,293.26 per ounce at 11.35am ET (1535 GMT), while US gold futures slipped 0.5% to $US1,293.30. Spot prices hit US$1,300.61 on Friday but quickly slipped back below US$1,300 an ounce.
“Retail sales were better, which means the economy isn’t necessarily slowing as quickly as some have suggested,” said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategies at TD Securities in Toronto.
US retail sales rose 0.2% in January, surprising economists who expected it to remain unchanged.
The strong data could prompt a less dovish stance from the US Federal Reserve, Melek added.
On Sunday, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell emphasised he would be closely monitoring how a slowing global economy affects local conditions in the United States in order to decide the future of its interest rate trajectory.
Higher interest rates reduce investor interest in non-yielding bullion.
Indicating improved appetite for riskier assets, global stocks regained some ground after its worst week in the year fuelled by a darkening economic outlook, as China promised further stimulus to cure their ailing economy.
“For the most part, investors are still most interested in the equity markets and are not finding a need for any safe haven products at this time,” Walter Pehowich, executive vice president of investment services at Dillon Gage Metals said in a note.
Speculators trimmed their net long positions in COMEX gold in the week to Mar 5, as bullion prices fell from 10-month highs and broke below the key US$1,300/oz level.
However, the net longs are up from record low levels touched in October.
Gold still has some impetus left, with concerns over the state of the global economy holding intact, analysts said.
“As we move into 2019, we should start seeing some weaker fundamentals in the US as the higher interest rates over the last year start having a negative impact and as we see the fiscal stimulus from the Trump tax-cuts wear off,” TD Securities’ Melek added.
Investors are now eyeing a key Brexit vote in the British parliament on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, palladium was up 0.6% to US$1,523.76 per ounce, while silver was down 0.2% at US$15.28. Platinum was down 0.5% at US$810.91 per ounce, after touching a low since Feb 19, at US$803.50, earlier in the day.