Investing.com - Gold futures were trading near six-month highs on Friday, as mounting concerns over tensions between Ukraine and Russia, coupled with worries over the outlook for growth in China boosted demand for the safe haven precious metal.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery traded at USD1,387.20 a troy ounce during European afternoon trade, up 1.08%.
The April contract settled 0.14% higher on Thursday to end at USD1,372.4 a troy ounce.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,386.00 a troy ounce, Thursday's low and resistance at USD1,388.40, Thursday's high and a six-month high.
Investors remained cautious after Russia launched new military exercises near its border with Ukraine on Thursday, showing no sign of backing down on plans to annex Crimea.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said serious steps would be imposed by the U.S. and Europe if the referendum on Crimea joining Russia takes place on Sunday as planned.
Kerry was set to meet with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Friday in a last attempt to defuse tension between Moscow and the West.
Markets were also jittery after data on Thursday showed that Chinese industrial production rose 8.6% in the first two months of 2014, missing market expectations for an increase of 9.5%, while Chinese retail sales rose by a smaller-than-forecast 11.8% in the same period.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for May delivery surged 2.68% to trade at USD21.767 a troy ounce, while copper for May delivery rallied 1.11% to trade at USD2.955 a pound.