Gold steadied on Friday as traders digested U.S. non-farm payrolls data but remained on track to slide nearly 5% this week after a jump in the dollar to two-and-half-month highs pushed the metal through key chart levels.
Spot gold was down 0.3% at $1,253.72 U.S. an ounce Friday, little changed from $1,254.22 late on Thursday, while U.S. gold futures for December delivery were up 0.1% at $1,255.20 U.S. an ounce. Gold has fallen for the last eight sessions in a row.
The U.S. Labor Department said Friday the economy added 156,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate ticked up to 5% Economists had expected 176,000 new jobs and the jobless rate to hold at 4.9%.
The jobs report pressured gold, and its downward move accelerated as it slipped through $1,300 U.S. an ounce, which has underpinned prices since Britain's vote to leave the European Union in June.
Gold is highly sensitive to rising U.S. interest rates, which increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion, while boosting the dollar, in which it is priced.
Elsewhere, silver was up 0.2% at $17.31 U.S. an ounce. It is down nearly 10% this week, its biggest weekly drop since April 2013. Platinum was down 0.1% at $962.24 U.S., while palladium was 0.2% higher at $668.90 U.S.
