Investing.com - Gold prices edged higher on Friday, but gains were expected to remain limited as data on U.S. initial jobless claims released on Thursday pointed to an ongoing recovery in the labor market.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for February delivery were up 0.27% to $1,211.80.
The February contract ended Thursday's session 0.18% lower at $1,208.50 an ounce.
The Department of Labor reported on Thursday that initial jobless claims fell by 4,000 to 294,000 last week, just slightly above expectations of 290,000.
The report came a day after data showed that the U.S. private sector added a larger-then-forecast 241,000 jobs in December.
The upbeat data boosted the outlook for the U.S. recovery and raised expectations for a strong reading of the government nonfarm payrolls due later Friday.
Gold lost nearly 2% in 2014 amid indications a strengthening U.S. economic recovery will force the Federal Reserve to start raising interest rates sooner and faster than previously thought.
Higher U.S. interest rates would boost the greenback and weigh on gold, which has benefited from central bank liquidity and a low interest rate environment since the 2008 financial crisis.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was steady at a 12-year high of 92.58 in early European trading.
Elsewhere in metals trading, silver for March delivery was steady at $16.377 a troy ounce, while copper futures for March delivery slipped 0.24% to $2.763 a pound.