Spot gold was up about 0.3 percent at $1,312.37 per ounce by 1156 GMT, while US gold futures gained 0.4 percent to $1,312.
"It is about the weakness in the economy in the euro zone and outlook for interest rates which makes holding gold more attractive," said Quantitative Commodity Research analyst Peter Fertig.
Businesses across the euro zone performed much worse than expected this month as factory activity contracted at the fastest pace in nearly six years, hurt by a big drop in demand, a survey showed.
"The data...was weaker than the consensus. This is weighing on interest rates in the euro zone and bond yields," Fertig said.
Germany's benchmark 10-year government bond yield turned negative for the first time since October 2016, while European stocks wiped out early gains after the data was released.
Gold prices rose to their highest since Feb. 28 on Thursday at $1,320.22. Despite paring some of those gains, they were still on track for a third straight weekly gain, up about 0.9 percent so far.
"Gold could not break above $1,320 on the upside and saw a correction. The current trading range seems to be between $1,305-$1,320," said Afshin Nabavi, senior vice president at MKS SA.
"I still believe that with the geopolitical and the (uncertain) Brexit situation, we may be heading higher."
EU leaders have given Prime Minister Theresa May a two-week reprieve, until April 12, before Britain could lurch out of the EU if she fails to persuade lawmakers to back the withdrawal treaty she concluded with Brussels.
Also capping prices was the Fed's decision earlier this week to bring its three-year drive to tighten monetary policy to an abrupt end, abandoning projections for any interest rate hikes this year.
Lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold and weigh on the dollar.
Among other precious metals, spot palladium dipped about 1.2 percent to $1,590 per ounce, after touching an all-time high of $1,620.53 in the previous session.
Concerns about a deep supply deficit and increased speculative buying interest have pushed palladium prices to record levels, analysts said.
Silver was down 0.2 percent to $15.44 per ounce, while platinum fell 0.1 percent at $857.59 per ounce.