Investing.com - Gold futures rose on Friday, but still remained within close distance of one-and-a-half month lows as markets awaited the release of a highly-anticipated U.S. nonfarm payrolls report later in the day.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for June delivery traded at $1,291.40 a troy ounce during European afternoon trade, up 0.54%.
The June contract settled 0.48% lower on Thursday to end at $1,284.6a troy ounce.
Gold futures were likely to find support at $1,278.10 a troy ounce, the low from April 1 and resistance at $1,299.10, the high from March 31.
On Thursday, the Institute of Supply Management said its non-manufacturing purchasing manager's index rose to 53.1 last month from a reading of 51.6 in February. Analysts had expected the index to increase to 53.5 in March.
A separate report showed that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits increased by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 326,000 last week from the previous week’s revised total of 310,000. Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 7,000 to 317,000 last week.
Data also showed that the U.S. trade deficit widened to a seasonally adjusted $42.3 billion in February from a deficit of $39.28 billion in January. U.S. exports fell 1.1% to $190.43 billion, while imports rose 0.4% to $232.73 billion.
Market players turned their attention on Friday to the March nonfarm payrolls report for further indications on the strength of the economy and the future course of monetary policy.
Gold has been under heavy selling pressure in recent weeks as upbeat U.S. economic data underlined expectations that the Federal Reserve will begin to raise rates sooner than previously thought.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for May delivery gained 0.52% to trade at $19.908 a troy ounce, while copper for May delivery advanced 0.57% to trade at $3.045 a pound.