TOKYO -- Gold held steady above $900 on Friday following a slump the previous day when its safe-haven status was hit by a stock rally as the G20 agreed on steps to restore global economic growth and rebuild the financial system.
But gold could face another bout of selling later in the day on the chance that stock markets will take US nonfarm payrolls data in their stride after weak related jobs data this week.
"The overall market outlook is quiet in Asia. I think the market has discounted the news about the announcement of G20," said Louis Lok, a dealer at Bank of China in Hong Kong.
"The next focus is the US announcement of the nonfarm payrolls data," and its impact on metals, stock and currency markets, Lok said.
Spot gold stood at $903.20 an ounce at 0318 GMT, almost flat from New York's notional close of $903.15.
Analysts polled by Reuters are forecasting that US nonfarm payrolls shrank by 650,000 in March, nearly matching a fall of 651,000 in February.
Bank of China's Lok said even a steady day on Wall Street after the jobs data could be negative for gold after it failed to climb above $930 per ounce this week.
On Thursday, bullion dipped more than 3.0 percent to a two-week low of $893.70 as G20 leaders set out a $1.1 trillion package to help revive the global economy.
Th G20 also agreed that some money for low-income countries would be raised by the IMF selling 400 tons of gold as previously planned.
Traders said that such a sale had been factored in and that the market could easily accommodate it it would be conducted in a way that would not cause price fluctuations.
