FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was up 0.1% at $1,832.59 per ounce, as of
0103 GMT, after rising more than 1% in the previous session.
U.S. gold futures rose 0.2% to $1,838.20.
* Bullion is on course to fall about 1.2% this week so far.
* The dollar index was down 0.1%, making bullion less
expensive for buyers holding other currencies.
* Data on Thursday showed the number of Americans filing new
claims for unemployment benefits last week increased by the most
in five months, but the underlying trend remained consistent
with a tight labor market.
* The U.S. Labor Department's non-farm payrolls (NFP) data
for February is due later in the day, and will be closely
watched for cues on the Fed's monetary policy path.
* The jobs report is expected to show non-farm payrolls
increased by 205,000 in February, according to economists polled
by Reuters.
* Markets are pricing in a peak in the Fed's benchmark
overnight interest rates at 5.475% in July.
* Although gold is considered a hedge against inflation,
high interest rates to control rising prices tend to decrease
the appetite for zero-yield bullion.
* Spot silver edged 0.1% higher to $20.09 per ounce,
platinum was flat at $944.46 and palladium rose
0.1% to $1,390.37.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0700 Germany HICP Final YY Feb
0700 UK GDP Est 3M/3M Jan
0700 UK GDP Estimate MM, YY Jan
0700 UK Manufacturing Output MM Jan
1330 US Non-Farm Payrolls Feb
1330 US Unemployment Rate Feb
(Reporting by Kavya Guduru in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry
Jacob-Phillips)
