Investing.com - Gold prices in Asia gained on Thursday as closely-watched manufacturing PMIs from China showed expansion, aiding sentiment on demand signals across the metals complex.
Gold for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 0.23% to $1,314.45 a troy ounce. Silver futures on the Comex gained 0.53% to $18.807 a troy ounce, while copper futures rose 0.48% to $2.088 a pound.
In China, the semi-official CFLP manufacturing PMI for August came in at 50.4, entering expansion territory and compared to the 49.9 level seen. The non-manufacturing PMI came in at 53.5, a tad weaker than the 53.9 previously. The Caixin manufacturing PMI for August came in at 50, just at expansion, but missing the expected 50.1 level seen and showing a dip from 50.6 the previous month.
Overnight, gold prices fell back towards a two-month low during North American hours on Wednesday, after upbeat U.S. employment data added to speculation that the Federal Reserve is gearing up to hike interest rates as soon as next month.
Payroll processing firm ADP said that non-farm private employment rose by 177,000 in August, surpassing expectations for an increase of 175,000. The economy created 194,000 jobs in July, whose figure was revised from a previously reported increase of 179,000.
Besides the ADP report, there is also Chicago PMI data at 9:45AM ET (13:45GMT) Wednesday and a report on pending home sales at 10:00AM ET (14:00GMT).
Market players are also looking ahead to Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report, which could determine whether the Fed raises rates in September. The consensus forecast is that the data will show jobs growth of 180,000 in August, following an increase of 255,000 in the preceding month.
According to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool, investors are pricing in a 27% chance of a rate hike by September. December odds were at around 56%.
The precious metal is sensitive to moves in U.S. rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion, while boosting the dollar in which it is priced.
The growing possibility for an imminent rate hike lifted the dollar to one-month highs against major currencies such as the yen and euro.