Investing.com - Gold prices held mostly steady in early Asia on Thursday wit the focus ahead on U.S. jobs data at the end of the week.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for December delivery held steady in early Asia on Thursday at $1,084.40, up 0.04%, as investor assess chances for a rebound after recent steady declines.
Silver for September delivery rose 0.10% to $14.565 a troy ounce. Copper for September delivery fell 0.09% to $2.351 a pound.
Overnight, gold fell mildly on Wednesday retreating back to near five and a half year lows, as strong non-manufacturing data from the Institute of Management pushed the dollar to its highest level in three and a half months.
Gold had stabilized in recent sessions after dipping below $1,075 an ounce late last month to touch down to its lowest level since 2010. Last Friday, for instance, it moved back above $1,100 an ounce after gaining more than $7 on the session. Since then, however, it has closed lower on three of the last four trading days. Over the last month, gold has only closed in the green in six of 27 sessions while losing more than 7.25% in value.
The precipitous fall included a 10-day rout in mid-July, which marked gold longest losing streak in nearly two decades. Investors have abandoned their positions in gold, as it loses its appeal as a safe haven asset following the resolution of comprehensive Greek Bailout and Iranian Nuclear deals. A historic collapse in Chinese equities and signals from the Federal Reserve on the timing of an imminent rate hike has also weighed on the precious metal.
Dollar-denominated commodities such as gold become more expensive for foreign purchasers when the dollar appreciates. The dollar pared earlier losses that resulted from a downgraded assessment of the current conditions in the U.S. labor market. In its monthly national employment report for July, fellows from the ADP Research Institute estimate that private payrolls in the U.S. rose by 185,000 in July, below forecasts of a 210,000 gain and down from an increase of 237,000 a month earlier.
It comes two days before the U.S. Department of Labor releases the official government data from its national employment situation report for the month of July. On Wednesday, Federal Reserve governor Jerome Powell said he will be taking a data-dependent approach to the timing of a potential rate hike, placing particular emphasis on the strength of the labor market.