Gold prices looked set to post their worst week in six on Friday as investors braced for a closely watched U.S. jobs report after a string of solid economic data this week drove Treasury yields to nine-month highs.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was up 0.1% at $1,936.15 per ounce by 0138 GMT, while U.S. gold futures rose 0.2% to $1,971.70 per ounce.
* Gold prices have declined more than 1% so far this week, having slipped to their lowest level since July 11 in the last session.
* U.S. long-term Treasury yields climbed to their highest since November on Thursday after employment and other economic data pointed to easing inflation.
* Rising bond yields dampen the appeal of gold, which pays no interest.
* Data on Thursday showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week, while layoffs dropped to an 11-month low in July as labour market conditions remained tight. * The Bank of England raised its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to a 15-year peak on Thursday, its 14th back-to-back increase, and warned that borrowing costs were likely to stay high for some time.
* The downturn in euro zone business activity worsened more than initially thought in July as the slump in manufacturing was accompanied by a further slowing of growth in the bloc’s dominant services industry, a survey showed.
* European Central Bank board member Fabio Panetta made the case on Thursday for keeping the ECB’s interest rates at their current high level for longer.
* China’s central bank governor pledged on Thursday to guide more financial resources towards the private economy.
* Spot silver gained 0.2% to $23.6 per ounce and platinum rose 0.3% to $917.29. Both were set for third consecutive weekly losses.
* Palladium was up 0.2% at $1,260.65.