PRECIOUS-Gold firm but on track for biggest weekly fall in 2 months

(Adds comments, updates prices)
* Asian shares rise after China GDP data
* Palladium set for best weekly gain in nearly 4 years
* Platinum eases off near 3-year high

By Asha Sistla
Jan 17 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged higher on Friday but
was on track to post its biggest weekly drop in two months as a
long awaited U.S.-China Phase 1 trade deal fuelled risk
appetite.
Spot gold XAU= rose 0.2% to $1,555.24 per ounce by 0823
GMT, heading for a weekly drop of 0.4% - its biggest since the
week ended Nov. 8.
U.S. gold futures GCcv1 rose 0.3% to $1,555.40.
Data showed China's economic growth slowed to its weakest in
nearly 30 years in 2019 amid the trade war with the United
States and sputtering investment, although positive industrial
production and retail sales data supported risk sentiment.
Although the Chinese GDP data met expectations, it "did not
indicate any significant recovery, and there still are concerns
about the impact of the trade war," in turn buoying gold, said
Hareesh V, head of commodity research at Geojit Financial
Services.
However, "gold traders are waiting for more clear economic
indicators or news."
Limiting gold's upside, Asian shares rose as investors
latched on to the positive readings from the Chinese data, and
following through from the record run in global stock indexes
after the phase 1 trade deal was signed. MKTS/GLOB
Gold is considered a safe asset in times of political and
economic uncertainty.
Financial markets received a slight reprieve after
announcement of the trade pact, although concerns about tariffs
and unresolved core issues remained. In other metals, palladium XPD= soared 2.2% to $2,362.71
an ounce, after hitting a record high of $2,395.13 on Thursday,
and was set for its biggest weekly gain since March 2016 having
risen nearly 12% so far.
"Palladium (prices are soaring) like a rocket ship. It
doesn't look like there's more of a story here than the
auto-catalytic demand," said Ilya Spivak, a senior currency
strategist at DailyFx.
However, "it's starting to look like prices are rising
because there's an expectation that they would go up. And that's
a dangerous place, because this is how bubbles are made."
Platinum XPT= jumped 0.9% to $1,012.58, after hitting its
highest since February 2017 at $1,041.05 in the previous
session.
"Much of it is a catch-up with palladium, it's a spill-over.
Platinum is not as efficient (for catalytic converters as
palladium), but if palladium is this expensive then that's the
option," added DailyFx's Spivak.
Silver XAG= advanced 0.5% to $18.03 per ounce.