Gold was lower and silver slightly higher in morning trading Friday amid reports of a weaker-than-expected Chinese economy, low producer price inflation in the U.S. and relative calm in eurozone markets.

Spot gold was down 0.34%, bid at $1,577.60 an ounce as of 11 a.m. Spot gold was trading below the $1,600 mark, reaching as high as $1,591.90 and as low as $1,577.60, according to Kitco market data. The London afternoon reference price was set at $1,583, down $15.50 per ounce from Thursday’s afternoon reference price.

Spot silver was showing a 0.1% gain, bid at $29.07 an ounce. The morning high as of time of writing was $29.22 and the low was $28.36. Friday’s reference price was set at $28.58, 67 cents per ounce below Thursday’s price fix.

Gasoline led the U.S. Producer Price Index lower in April, the Labor Department reported. US PPI declined a seasonally adjusted 0.2%, the second-biggest decline since October. The PPI has risen 1.9% on an unadjusted basis year-over-year, the smallest increase since October 2009. Core PPI, which excludes food and energy, inched up 0.2%.

Italy auctioned 10 billion euros ($13 billion) of 364-day Treasury bills at rates lower than its previous auction on April 11 as the leaders of Greece’s political parties scrambled to forge a governing coalition and avoid new elections.

China’s industrial output and retail sales slowed unexpectedly in April. Industrial output grew at 9.3%, that’s its lowest rate since May 2009, while retail sales growth rose 14.1%, that’s the weakest in 14 months. In addition, China’s April Consumer Price Index increased 3.4%, indicating inflation may be moderating. China’s CPI rose 3.6% in March.

Gold bullion fell as low as $1,574 an ounce in London morning trading Friday, its lowest since the first week of January, and set to close out the week with a 3.7% loss, BullionVault reported.

“When the market gets very nervous, then they buy Dollars and gold finds it difficult to rally,” BullionVault quoted Jesper Dannesboe, senior commodity strategist at Societe Generale in London. “Given what’s going on in the markets at the moment, any rally will probably just be a bounce before another setback.”

Gold and silver trusts were closing out the week lower in U.S. stock exchange trading.

• The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD) was down around 0.3%.
• The iShares Gold Trust (NYSE:IAU) was down around 0.3%.
• The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:SLV) was down between 0.14% and 0.25%.

Gold mining ETFs were on the plus side, with the Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE:SIL) showing small losses.

• The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) was showing gains of around 0.3%.
• The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDXJ) was up around 0.1%.
• The Global X Silver Miners ETF was down around 0.11%.

Gold mining shares were mixed, with Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) and NovaGold Resources (AMEX:NG) showing strong gains.

• Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM) was down around 0.4%.
• Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) was down around 0.2%.
• Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO) was down some 0.35%.
• Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) was up around 0.4%.
• Kinross Gold was sharply higher, up around 2%.
• Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) was showing losses of around 0.15%.
• NovaGold Resources was gapping up around 3.6%.
• Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) was up around 1%.

Silver mining shares also were mixed.

• Coeur d’Alene Mines (NYSE:CDE) was down nearly 0.4%.
• Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) was around 0.7% lower.
• Pan American Silver (NASDAQ:PAAS) was showing losses of around 0.7%.
• Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) was up around 1.85%.
• Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ:SSRI) was down some 0.9%.

As of this writing, Andrew Burger did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Adrian Ash of BullionVault contributed to this report.