Gold steady as dollar weakens on sour U.S. data

Gold steadied on Thursday as the U.S. dollar slipped on the back of a weaker-than-expected job growth data, despite positive signals from U.S.-China trade talks.

Spot gold rose 0.1 percent to $1,475.37 per ounce by 0100 GMT. Prices had hit $1,484 in the previous session, their highest level since November 7.

U.S. gold futures rose 0.1 percent to $1,481.00.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday trade talks with China were going “very well,” sounding more positive than on Tuesday when he said a trade deal might have to wait until after the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

The world’s top two economies are moving closer to agreeing on the amount of tariffs to be rolled back in a phase-one trade deal, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing sources.

The dollar index was down against a basket of rivals, falling for a fifth-consecutive session, making gold cheaper for holders of other currencies.

Asian stocks rose on optimism of a trade deal.

U.S. private employers added the fewest jobs in six months in November, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday.

Japanese manufacturers turned less gloomy about their business conditions in December while the service sector outlook improved from the prior month’s survey, the Reuters Tankan poll showed.

The U.S. threatened to hit France with up to 100 percent tariffs on $2.4 billion of U.S. imports of products, including cosmetics and porcelain.

Polish central bank governor Adam Glapinski on Wednesday said it would be good to increase the ratio of gold in the central bank’s reserves to 20 percent from current around 10 percent.

Gold miners look set to extend a deal spree after notching transactions worth a record $30.5 billion this year, according to data.

Holdings of the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund SPDR Gold Trust, fell 0.07 percent to 888.57 tonnes on Wednesday from Tuesday.

Palladium rose 0.1 percent to $1,870.98 per ounce. Silver rose 0.3 percent to $16.87 per ounce, while platinum was up 0.4 percent to $898.03.

Source: Reuters