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Gold prices retreated towards $1,650 an ounce on Wednesday as the dollar strengthened against the euro, after a downbeat reading of euro zone manufacturing activity contrasted with stronger data from the United States.

Gold touched two-week highs on Tuesday, set for its longest stretch of daily gains in eight months, after a rally in the dollar fizzled out as investor concern escalated over the resilience of the U.S. and euro zone economies.

Gold prices slid towards $1,650 an ounce on Monday, taking a breather after four straight days of gains, as upcoming elections in France and Greece and a European Central Bank meeting later this week pressured the euro versus the dollar.

Gold prices slipped back towards $1,650 an ounce on Friday as investors cashed in gains after a three-session rally, with confidence in the metal still soft as consumers in major Asian bullion-buying centres held off making fresh purchases.

Stocks eyed a fourth day of gains on Friday, with Amazon the latest company to extend an earnings-driven rally that has wiped out much of the market's losses for April.

Gold prices rose towards $1,650 an ounce on Thursday after the Federal Reserve opted to keep U.S. interest rates at rock bottom, taking further support from the foreign exchange market as the dollar languished against a basket of major currencies.

Gold eased on Thursday as European debt jitters and worries over the U.S. job market extended the metal's losses for a fifth consecutive day.

While chances of a third round of U.S. money-printing quantitative easing measures, or QE3, have dimmed, the World Gold Council, or WGC, remains positive on the yellow metal's outlook due to its international appeal and value in hedging against inflation and deflation.

Fresnillo, the world's largest primary silver producer, posted first-quarter output of the metal in line with its expectations and said production of gold was ahead of target, helped by the start-up of a new mine in Mexico.

Gold eased on Wednesday, having fallen for the past three trading days, as the euro came under pressure from continued worries about the euro zone.

Gold prices rose slightly Tuesday on higher crude oil prices and a declining dollar.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked banks to reduce their exposure to non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), which have given loans mostly against gold, sending shares of such companies sharply lower.

Canada's Endeavour Silver Corp (EDR.TO) is buying two of AuRico Gold's (AUQ.TO) silver and gold mining interests in Mexico for up to $250 million in cash and stock to expand its footprint in the country.

Gold prices fell in quiet trade on Monday, following crude oil's losses, as worries about Spain's ability to repay its debt and a resurgent euro zone debt crisis extended bullion's loss to a second day.

Gold prices slipped below $1,670 an ounce on Friday, pausing in their biggest one-week rally since late February as the dollar firmed against key currencies, with the euro falling out of favour due to worries over Spain's financial health.

Gold eased for a second consecutive day on Thursday, but was still set for its largest weekly gain in six weeks, thanks to the toll the re-emergence of the euro zone debt crisis has taken on investor risk appetite.

Gold steadied on Tuesday, surrendering earlier gains as a rally sparked by expectations that a sluggish U.S. employment market could fuel further monetary easing ran out of steam in the face of a firming dollar and easing appetite for risk.

Gold prices rose more than 1 percent on Monday, recovering from last week's hefty drop after disappointing U.S. jobs data revived hopes for fresh monetary easing and a spike in Chinese inflation boosted appetite for the metal.

Gold rose on Thursday, as investors covered short positions after a sharp two-day pullback, and a crude oil rally also buoyed the precious metal that sank early this week on disappointment about further U.S. monetary easing.

Gold inched higher on Thursday after falling to a near three-month low the previous day as weaker prices tempted some buyers, but gains were capped by a stronger dollar and fading hopes for a fresh round of monetary stimulus in the United States.

A collapse in gold producers lofty valuations has sparked soul searching about an exodus of restive shareholders, forcing them to tighten operations and boost dividends to lure investors.

Gold prices hit their lowest since early January on Wednesday as comments from the European Central Bank lifted the dollar to three-week highs against the euro, accelerating a fall sparked by declining expectations of more U.S. monetary easing.

Gold held near $1,675 an ounce on Tuesday as investors took to the sidelines ahead of the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting, which will be closely watched for clues on the direction of monetary policy.

Gold prices rose above $1,680 an ounce on Monday as the dollar steadied off earlier one-month highs against the euro, with the U.S. unit further paring gains after U.S. construction spending and manufacturing data.

Gold prices will continue to rise steadily throughout the next 12 months, as long as the U.S. economy maintains its tepid recovery, according to a note recently released by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Gold prices rose on Friday as the dollar fell to a one-month low against a basket of currencies, including the euro, after European finance ministers agreed to boost the euro zone's debt crisis firewall to roughly 800 billion euros ($1.1 trillion).

Gold prices snapped three days of losses to rise on Wednesday, helped by the euro paring losses versus the dollar, which eased negative currency effects on the precious metal, and by a tentative recovery in demand for physical gold at lower prices.

Gold is down more than 6 percent since late February, having dropped sharply from the year's highs after U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke held off signaling a further round of U.S. monetary easing in a key speech.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd , the world's most valuable lender, said in a statement that its gold leasing business reached 62.8 tonnes of physical metal in 2011.