(RTTNews) - The price of gold was moving higher Friday morning as the U.S. dollar was trading lower ahead of the non-farm payrolls report.
Gold for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, added $8.00 to $1,598.70 an ounce. Yesterday, gold dropped well below the $1600-mark to settle lower for a third straight day as investors were disappointed at the outcome of the European Central Bank meeting earlier today. Most notably, there were no aggressive moves to back up Mario Draghi's assurances last week that the central bank would do "whatever it takes" to protect the euro.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, were unchanged at 1,251.92 tons.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar was paring recent gains versus the euro and continued to tick lower against sterling. The buck was moving higher versus the yen and edging lower against the Swiss franc.
In economic news, euro zone retail sales volume rose 0.1 percent month-on-month in June, Eurostat reported. The June increase was in contrast to a 0.1 percent fall forecast by economists. In May, retail trade increased 0.8 percent. On a yearly basis, retail sales fell 1.2 percent in June, bigger than the 0.8 percent drop logged in May. Economists had forecast a 1.9 percent drop for June.
Meanwhile, a survey report from Markit Economics revealed that the private sector in the euro zone contracted for the tenth time in the past 11 months. The final composite output index rose to 46.5 from 46.4 in June, Friday. According to flash estimate, the index remained unchanged at 46.4.
The prices of silver and platinum were moving higher in morning deals.
From the U.S., the Labor Department will come out with its non-farm payroll report for the month of July at 8.30 a.m ET. Economists expect non-farm payrolls for July to increase by 100,000 compared to the 80,000 jobs additions in June, while the unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 8.2 percent. The private sector is expected to have added 110,000 jobs.
Later during the session, the Institute for Supply Management will release the results of its non-manufacturing survey. The non-manufacturing index is likely to show a reading of 52 for July compared to 52.1 in June.
