The price of gold was moving lower Friday morning, with the US dollar trading firm versus a basket of currencies as traders speculate update jobs data from the US.
Gold for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, lost $22.30 to $1,288.90 an ounce. Yesterday, gold settled lower as the dollar strengthened on some upbeat macroeconomic data out of the U.S., led by a better-than-expected initial unemployment claims data. Gold prices initially moved up with no indication from the U.S. Federal Reserve on its plans to taper down the quantitative easing program in the near future.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, moved down to 921.05 tons from 927.35 tons.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar was moving back near its 2-week high versus the euro, the Swiss franc and sterling, while moving higher against the yen.
In economic news, euro zone producer prices rose 0.3 percent in June from a year ago, reversing May's 0.2 percent fall, Eurostat reported. The rate matched economists' expectations. The industrial producer price index remained stable on a monthly basis as expected by economists, following a 0.3 percent drop in May.
British house prices recorded their strongest growth in nearly three years in July and the average home value climbed to the highest level in five years. The house price index increased 3.9 percent on an annual basis in July, notably faster than June's 1.9 percent rise, the Nationwide Building Society said Friday.
From the U.S., the Labor Department will release its non-farm payrolls report for July at 8:30 am ET. Economists expect payrolls to increase by 175,000 following the addition of 195,000 jobs in June. The unemployment rate is expected to have edged down by 0.1 percentage points to 7.5 percent.
Simultaneously, the Commerce Department will release its personal income and spending report for June. Economists expect personal income and spending growth of 0.4 percent each for the month.
Later during the session, the Commerce Department will release its factory orders report. The consensus estimates call for a 2.3 percent month-over-month increase in factory orders for the month.
