Gold fell for a fourth day on Friday, holding near its lowest point since May last year, as investors await U.S. jobs data for more clues on the health of the world's largest economy.
Strong employment data could prompt the U.S. Federal Reserve to end its bullion-friendly bond-buying programme earlier than expected and dent gold's safe haven appeal as worries
about inflation ebb. A drop in bullion holdings in major gold exchange traded funds to their lowest level since August 2012 has also dragged on prices.
Gold eased $1.55 an ounce to $1,551.16 by 0314 GMT, heading for a second week of decline. It fell to a 10-month low at 1,539.74 on Thursday as it failed to react to the shock of the Bank of Japan's unprecedented monetary stimulus and hopes for another European Central Bank rate cut. China being absent from the physical market this week for a Thursday and Friday holiday has added to the overall weakness in metals, Lan also noted.
Bullion has slipped around 4 percent since hitting a hitting a 1-month high in March as investors dumped the precious metal in favour of more risky assets. U.S. gold for June delivery was at $1,551.20 an ounce, down $1.20. The U.S. nonfarm payrolls data due at 1230 GMT will likely show employers added 200,000 jobs last month after hiring 236,000 workers in February.
Oil was up in Asia today as cautious traders waited for the release of US jobs data for March. New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate light sweet crude for delivery in May, added 18 cents to USD 93.44 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for May increased 16 cents to USD 106.50 in mid-morning trade.
Oil prices had fallen in New York yesterday in the wake of unexpectedly high US jobless claims and concerns about a supply glut in the world's largest economy and energy consumer.
The US Labor Department will release its jobs and unemployment report later Friday. Most analysts have pencilled in US jobs growth of 192,000 in March, down from a February spike of 236,000.
