Gold prices edge up ahead of US jobs data, set for 7th weekly gain

[BENGALURU] Gold prices inched up on Friday and were heading for their seventh consecutive weekly gain, with investors waiting for US non-farm payrolls data later in the day for clues on the outlook for interest rate cuts.

Spot gold was up 0.2 per cent at US$1,417.40 per ounce as of 0119 GMT. Prices touched US$1,435.99 on Wednesday, the highest since June 25.

The metal has risen 0.7 per cent so far this week and is on track for its seventh consecutive weekly rise.

US gold futures were down 0.1 per cent at US$1,419.90 an ounce.

All eyes are on US non-farm payrolls, due later in the day, which are expected to have jumped by 160,000 in June compared with 75,000 in May.

The US Federal Reserve holds its two-day policy meeting on July 30-31 and futures are fully pricing in a 25-basis-point cut.

The dollar index was relatively unchanged against a basket of major currencies on Friday.

US Treasury yields fell on Wednesday with 10-year yields hitting their lowest in over 2-1/2 years.

Asian shares hovered near two-month highs on Friday, holding recent gains.

Australia's OceanaGold Corp said on Thursday that it had stopped trucking at its Didipio gold and copper mine in the Philippines after a dispute with the provincial government over its licence to operate at the site.

Investors pulled US$15.1 billion from equity funds after near record selling in the United States ahead of the G-20 Summit, and piled US$6.3 billion into bonds in the four trading days to July 2, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) said on Thursday.

REUTERS