LONDON: Gold rose one percent, after a surprising unchanged reading in US consumer spending and comments on interest rates from a Federal Reserve’s official weighed on the dollar.

Spot gold rose to a session high of $1,201.99 an ounce and was up 0.9 percent at $1,200.21 an ounce by 1412 GMT. It posted a second consecutive weekly fall last week, hitting a three-week low of $1,180.50 on Thursday.

US gold futures for August delivery rose $10.20 to $1,200.30 an ounce. Silver climbed 2 percent to $17.04 an ounce.

Platinum bounced back from a two-month low to trade up 0.6 percent at $1,116.50 ounce, while palladium was unchanged at $775.25 an ounce.

The dollar cut initial gains versus a basket of leading currencies after US data suggested the economy was growing moderately early in the second quarter.

The week will continue with a number of economic pointers culminating with the jobs report on Friday, which investors will peruse for clues on the timing of a rate hike.

“The US data out that seems to have weakened the dollar and that gave gold a bit of a boost,” Societe Generale analyst Robin Bhar said.

“We will have to see how it performs above $1,200 in the next few hours and if don’t get a lot of follow through then prices will come back down again.”

The US currency had been strengthening on expectations the US Federal Reserve will soon raise interest rates from record lows.

Higher rates would reduce demand for non-interest-paying bullion.

Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said Monday that he would like to begin raising rates as soon as possible, but risks from the slowdown in China and Europe in particular loom large even as growth at home is still not strong enough.

Investors were monitoring the Greek situation, after Athens missed a self-imposed Sunday deadline for reaching an agreement with its lenders to unlock aid.

Without a deal, Greece risks default or bankruptcy in weeks, a possibility that has supported gold prices to an extent. Athens missed a self-imposed Sunday deadline for reaching an agreement to unlock aid, sources close to the talks said.

“Greece and global equity markets remain the perennial wild cards,” INTL FCStone said in a note.

Any worsening of the Greek debt crisis could potentially trigger demand for gold coins and bars.

The metal is usually seen as a hedge against political and financial risk, although the impact on demand from wider political concerns is usually short lived.