Investing.com - Gold prices were steady to higher in Asian trade on Thursday with physical demand offering support.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for June delivery traded at $1,291.10 a troy ounce, up 0.02%, after hitting an overnight session high of $1,294.80 and up from a low of $1,278.80
Weeks of solid economic indicators have sent gold prices falling on the notion that the Federal Reserve remains on track to wind down its monthly bond-buying program this year.
The program, currently set at $55 billion a month, aims to spur recovery by suppressing long-term borrowing costs, weakening the dollar as a side-effect and making gold an attractive hedge.
Payroll processing firm ADP reported earlier that the U.S. private sector added 191,000 jobs in March, just shy of expectations for a 195,000 reading.
February’s figure was revised up to a gain of 178,000 from a previously reported increase of 139,000, and the overall report bolstered the dollar by fueling hopes Friday's official nonfarm payrolls data will come in solid.
Separately, the Commerce Department said U.S. factory orders jumped 1.6% in February, the biggest increase since September, ahead of forecasts for a 1.2% rise.
The data strengthened the greenback by firming expectations for the Fed to intervene less in the economy, though gold prices shrugged off the data.
Concerns that Friday's official jobs report could disappoint bolstered prices as well.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for May delivery was down 0.25% and trading $20.000 a troy ounce, while copper for May delivery was down 0.13% and trading at $3.035 a pound.