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* Spot gold may break support at $1,237/oz- technicals
* Specs cut net longs in gold in week to July 10
* Silver pulls away from 7-month low
(Adds comment, updates prices)
By Apeksha Nair
BENGALURU, July 16 (Reuters) - Gold prices recovered from aseven-month low on Monday, as the dollar traded below its recenthighs and after sluggish GDP data from China weighed on Asianstocks.
Spot gold
U.S. gold futures
"The CNH (Chinese yuan traded offshore) is a bit strongerversus the dollar and that's giving gold some support," a HongKong-based trader said.
The absence of increased rhetoric out of Beijing orWashington over the weekend likely gave the CNH a bit ofreprieve, the trader said, adding that technically gold wasunder pressure and would still be sold on rallies toward $1,250.
The dollar seesawed versus the Chinese yuan even as officialdata on Monday showed China's GDP slowed in the second quarteras expected. Against a basket of six major currencies
A weaker dollar makes greenback denominated gold cheaper forholders of other currencies.
Asian shares were lower on Monday after data pointed toslowing growth in the world's second-largest economy, and asinvestors remained cautious over the impact of the heatedSino-U.S. trade war.
Gold prices, which can gain in times of politicaluncertainty, have failed to benefit from the ongoing tradedispute.
"The dollar has been traditionally a safe haven asset, andcould be re-positioned as such especially if risk events anduncertainties continue to brew into the backdrop," said OCBCanalyst Barnabas Gan.
Meanwhile, investors are looking to June U.S. retail salesdata, due later in the day, to assess the state of the economy.
The Federal Reserve on Friday pointed to "solid" U.S.economic growth during the first half of the year in itssemi-annual report to Congress, where it also reiterated that itexpected to continue to raise interest rates gradually.
Higher U.S. rates tend to boost the greenback and push bondyields up, weighing on non-interest bearing gold.
Spot gold may break a support at $1,237 per ounce and fallto the next support at $1,226, Reuters technicals analyst WangTao said.
Hedge funds and money managers cut their net long positionin COMEX gold contracts to a 2-1/2-year low in the week to July10, U.S. data showed on Friday.
In other precious metals, silver
Platinum
(Reporting by Apeksha Nair in Bengaluru; editing by RichardPullin and Subhranshu Sahu) ((Apeksha.Nair@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 651 848 5832,outside U.S. +91 80 6749 6408/1298; Reuters Messaging:apeksha.nair.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
