Investing.com - Gold prices were flat to higher in Asia Thursday ahead of the European Central Bank's board meeting on monetary policy and Friday's U.S. non-farm payrolls.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for August delivery traded at $1,244.70 a troy ounce, up 0.03%.
Silver for July delivery on the Comex slipped 0.04% to trade at $18.785 a troy ounce. Copper for July delivery fell 0.19% to trade at $3.088 a pound.
Overnight, investors eyed a string of U.S. economic reports.
Payroll processing firm ADP said non-farm private employment rose by 179,000 in May, below expectations for an increase of 210,000. April's figure was revised down to a gain of 215,000 from a previously reported increase of 220,000.
A separate report showed that U.S. trade deficit widened to $47.24 billion in April, from $44.18 billion in March whose figure was revised from a previously estimated deficit of $40.40 billion. Analysts had expected the trade deficit to widen to $40.80billion in April.
Meanwhile, sentiment on the euro remained vulnerable after Eurostat on Tuesday said consumer price inflation in the euro zone increased by 0.5% last month, down from 0.7% in April and missing expectations for a reading of 0.7%. The rate stands well below the ECB target of near but just under 2%.