(Recasts, updates prices, as of 0804 GMT)

* Top gold consumer China's GDP growth falters in Q2

* Break above $1,961 may confirm continuation of uptrend - analyst

July 17 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged lower on Monday as lackluster economic data from top consumer China fueled concerns over demand, while investors largely bet on the U.S. Federal Reserve hitting the brakes soon on its rate-hike trajectory.

Data showed China's economy grew at a frail pace in the second quarter as demand weakened at home and abroad, raising pressure on policymakers to deliver more stimulus to shore up activity.

With hopes of stimulus measures in July or August, riskier assets such as base metals and equities would be bought more, which could dent gold's demand, said Vandana Bharti, assistant vice-president of commodity research at SMC Global Securities.

"Otherwise, we are expecting a range-movement in gold with a bias to the upside."

Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,952.29 per ounce by 0804 GMT. U.S. gold futures fell 0.4% to $1,956.10.

"Gold's post-CPI rally has paused for breath, and that leaves the potential for a technically-driven retracement to the $1,940–$1,950 region," said Matt Simpson, a senior market analyst at City Index.

Last week's U.S. data hinted at a disinflationary trend as consumer prices grew at their slowest pace in more than two years. A hike is largely expected from the Fed in the July 25-26 meeting, likely stopping there before cuts next year.

That sent gold prices to their highest level since June 16 on Friday, when prices posted their best week since April.

"If peak cycles are close, it is another supportive feature for gold, alongside central bank buying," Simpson added.

Lower interest rates support gold as they decrease the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

Only a break above $1,961 could confirm a continuation of the uptrend towards the range of $1,971 to $1,977, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.

In other metals, spot silver fell 0.4% to $24.82 per ounce, platinum was down 0.6% at $965.41, while palladium dipped 0.7% to $1,261.65.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Swati Verma; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Eileen Soreng and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)