Gold prices were trading at four-month highs on Friday, as sentiment on the greenback remained vulnerable following weak U.S. data released on Thursday and ahead of key retail sales and inflation reports due later in the day.

Comex gold futures were up 0.38% at $1,327.60 a troy ounce by 03:00 a.m. ET (07:00 GMT), the highest since September.

The greenback came under pressure after the U.S. Department of Labor reported on Thursday that initial jobless claims increased to 261,000 last week, compared to expectations for a drop to 246,000.

A separate report showed that the producer price index fell 0.1% last month, confounding expectations for a 0.2% rise.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.39% at 91.76, off session highs of 92.30.

Gold is sensitive to moves in the dollar. A stronger dollar makes gold more expensive for holders of foreign currency.

The U.S. dollar had gained ground earlier Thursday after China’s foreign exchange regulator said that a report about Beijing slowing or halting its U.S. bond buying may be based on erroneous information and could be "fake".

Bloomberg reported this week that Chinese officials reviewing foreign-exchange holdings had recommended slowing or halting purchases of U.S. bonds. China is the largest foreign holder of U.S. government debt.