* Gold up 0.6 pct, silver up 1 pct * Dollar eases 0.1 pct versus the euro, shares fall * Platinum Week kicks off with talk of market deficits * GRAPHIC-2016 asset returns: reut.rs/1WAiOSC (Updates prices, adds comment) By Jan Harvey LONDON, May 16 Gold rose on Monday, recovering after its biggest weekly loss since mid-March, as stock markets eased on soft Chinese data, boosting interest in the metal as an alternative asset, and the dollar weakened against the euro. Spot gold was up 0.6 percent at $1,280.95 an ounce at 1140 GMT, while U.S. gold futures for June delivery were up $10.50 at $1,283.20. The metal ended last week down 1.2 percent after a sharp midweek slide, though it rebounded by 0.8 percent on Friday. "Gold had a better close (last week) than one would have thought a few days earlier, and it seems to be putting in quite an impressive spell," Societe Generale analyst Robin Bhar said. "The trigger may be the softer China data we've had, with some misses on industrial production, retail sales. That's supporting the gold price." "I thought it might break down once we started testing below $1,270, but it didn't. That may have wrong-footed some of the people who went short." European shares fell in subdued trade on Monday. Data from China over the weekend was less rosy, with April's retail sales, factory output and fixed-asset investment all falling short of forecasts by economists polled by Reuters. The dollar eased by 0.1 percent against the euro. Gold has risen 20 percent this year after weak economic data in the United States and elsewhere tempered expectations of a near-term increase in U.S. interest rates, which would lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold. "Fed hikes are the only obstacle to a sustained bull market," Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a note. "We anticipate a normalisation of rates, but don't think aggressive hikes are likely." Among other precious metals, silver was up 1 percent at $17.30 an ounce, platinum rose 0.7 percent to $1,054.29 and palladium was up 0.3 percent at $590.72 an ounce. As industry participants gathered in London on Monday for Platinum Week, the World Platinum Investment Council said in a report that a drop in South African mine supply is set to deepen the deficit in the platinum market this year. Platinum's slide to seven-year lows in January marked the end of the 18-month bear cycle that saw it nearly halve in value, Metals Focus said as it forecast a shortfall in supply this year. The palladium market may need up to three years to consume its opaque above-ground stocks, according to Russia's Norilsk Nickel, the world's largest producer of the metal. (Additional reporting by Naveen Thukral in Singapore; Editing by David Evans and David Goodman)