Gold investors have something to celebrate heading into the weekend as the yellow metal remained resilient and overcame a difficult week, according to one analyst. Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, noted that a lot of negative news was thrown at gold including the U.S. dollar trading at a two-year high and better-than-expected economic data. U.S. gross domestic product grew at 3.2% in the first quarter of 2019. Despite all the negative news, the yellow metal managed to hold critical support at its 200-day moving average, which currently comes in at $1,267 an ounce. Now analysts see the potential for gold to rise back to $1,300 in the near term. “I think we can see there is underlying support in the marketplace, and there is not much appetite to sell gold below $1,275 an ounce,” he said. “I think gold has gone as far as it can on the downside for now.” On the surface, the U.S. economy appears to be on solid footing after growing 3.2% in the first quarter of 2019. For some commodity analysts, the answer to gold’s unexpected move lies in the details of the report. Economic growth was driven in part by a strong build in inventories and better-than-expected trade data. However, some economists have said that these are not sustainable trends. “Stripping out trade and inventories, final sales to domestic purchasers increased by only 1.4%, which is the smallest gain in more than three years. That is a much better guide to the underlying strength of the economy,” Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics. “Under those circumstances, we continue to expect that overall growth will slow this year, forcing the Fed to begin cutting interest rates before year-end.”