Investing.com - Gold prices gained ground on Friday, as traders awaited the release of key U.S. employment data due later in the day amid uncertainty over the strength of the local job market.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery were up 0.74% at $1,281.55.
The June contract ended Thursday's session 0.16% lower at $1,272.30 an ounce.
Futures were likely to find support at $1,273.00, the low from May 4 and resistance at $1,304.40, the high from May 2 and a 14-month peak.
Traders were eyeing the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report due later Friday for further indications on the strength of the job market following several negative signs this week.
Payroll processing firm ADP said on Wednesday that non-farm private employment rose by 156,000 last month, missing expectations for an increase of 196,000.
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending April 29 increased by 17,000 to 274,000 from the previous week’s total of 257,000.
Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 3,000 to 260,000 last week.
An upbeat employment report on Friday would help support the case for the Federal Reserve to steadily tighten monetary policy this year, while a disappointing outcome will push back expectations for higher interest rates.
Gold is sensitive to moves in U.S. interest rates, as a rise would lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion.
Elsewhere in metals trading, silver futures for July delivery edged up 0.08% to $17.340 a troy ounce, while copper futures for July delivery were steady $2.153 a pound.