By Claudia Assis and Nick Godt, MarketWatch SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures reversed higher Wednesday, as investors weighed a disappointing jobs report against a hopeful read on manufacturing activity in the Chicago area. Gold for August delivery added $1.40, or 0.1%, to $1,243.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The purchasing managers index for the Chicago region fell to 59.1% from 59.7%, but the slight drop was construed as positive as index levels remained high and the slight drop was in line with expectations. Readings over 50% indicate overall business expansion. Earlier on Wednesday, payroll processor ADP said private-sector employment increased by 13,000 in June. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had been expecting the ADP report to show a 65,000 increase. See Economic Report for more on GDP. The U.S. dollar came under further pressure after the private payrolls data. The dollar index (DXY 85.88, -0.14, -0.17%) , which compares the U.S. unit to a basket of six currencies, declined 0.2% to 85.82. Silver tracked gold higher, with the most-active September contract adding 4 cents, or 0.3%, to $18.68 an ounce. Copper reversed lower. September copper, the most-active contract, lost 2 cents, or 0.7%, to $2.91 a pound. Copper futures slid 5.1% on Tuesday after an economic indicator for China was revised down. Meanwhile, the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD 121.63, +0.36, +0.29%) , the largest exchange-traded fund backed by gold, added 0.6%. The ETF's holdings rose to a fresh record Tuesday, the last day for which statistics are available. The fund reported holding 1,320 metric tons (1,455 short tons) of gold, against 1,316 metric tons earlier in the week. The fund's assets have surpassed $50 billion, a 32% increase so far this year. On Tuesday, gold rose modestly as stocks and other commodities fell sharply on fears China's economy may be slowing and as the Conference Board consumer-sentiment index fell to 52.9 in June, its lowest level since March

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