• Gold prices recovered from a seven-month low on Monday, as the dollar traded below its recent highs and after sluggish GDP data from China weighed on Asian stocks.
• Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,242.86 an ounce at 0730 GMT, after marking the lowest since Dec. 12 at $1,236.58 on Friday.
• U.S. gold futures for August delivery were about 0.2 percent higher at $1,243 an ounce.
• "The CNH (Chinese yuan traded offshore) is a bit stronger versus the dollar and that's giving gold some support," a Hong Kong-based trader said.
• The absence of increased rhetoric out of Beijing or Washington over the weekend likely gave the CNH a bit of reprieve, the trader said, adding that technically gold was under pressure and would still be sold on rallies toward $1,250.
• The dollar seesawed versus the Chinese yuan even as official data on Monday showed China's GDP slowed in the second quarter as expected. Against a basket of six major currencies , the greenback traded below a 10-day peak.
• Asian shares were lower on Monday after data pointed to slowing growth in the world's second-largest economy, and as investors remained cautious over the impact of the heated Sino-U.S. trade war.
• Gold prices, which can gain in times of political uncertainty, have failed to benefit from the ongoing trade dispute.
• "The dollar has been traditionally a safe haven asset, and could be re-positioned as such especially if risk events and uncertainties continue to brew into the backdrop," said OCBC analyst Barnabas Gan.
• Meanwhile, investors are looking to June U.S. retail sales data, due later in the day, to assess the state of the economy.
• The Federal Reserve on Friday pointed to "solid" U.S. economic growth during the first half of the year in its semi-annual report to Congress, where it also reiterated that it expected to continue to raise interest rates gradually.
• Spot gold may break a support at $1,237 per ounce and fall to the next support at $1,226, Reuters technicals analyst Wang Tao said.
• Hedge funds and money managers cut their net long position in COMEX gold contracts to a 2-1/2-year low in the week to July 10, U.S. data showed on Friday.
• In other precious metals, silver was up about 0.2 percent at $15.80 an ounce, after hitting a seven-month low at $15.67 in the previous session.
• Platinum was down 0.3 percent at $823.50 an ounce, while palladium climbed 0.4 percent to $940.80.
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