(Updates prices)
* U.S. non-farm payrolls data due at 1230 GMT
* Fund flows rise in U.S. based gold funds - Lipper
By Sethuraman N R
BENGALURU, July 8 (Reuters) - Gold edged down on Friday as
investors turned cautious ahead of U.S. jobs data later in the
day, but the precious metal remained on course for a sixth
consecutive weekly gain.
Spot gold XAU= was trading down 0.3 percent at $1,356.41
an ounce by 0656 GMT. Bullion has risen about 1 percent so far
this week.
U.S. gold GCcv1 fell 0.3 percent to $1,358.10 an ounce.
"We have seen some slight correction in gold prices from
yesterday...Prices have come up quite a lot. It was long time
since many of them decided to take profits," said Brian Lan,
managing director at Singapore-based gold dealer GoldSilver
Central.
Data published on Thursday ahead of the closely-watched U.S.
non-farm payrolls report suggested a rebound in jobs growth
after May's paltry gains.
U.S. private payrolls increased more than expected in June
as small businesses ramped up hiring, and fewer Americans
applied for unemployment benefits last week.
"A very strong jobs figure will trigger some short term pain
for gold, however, the underlying uptrend should prevail in the
medium term," MKS Group trader James Gardiner wrote in a note.
Any weakness in hiring however could be an indication that
the U.S. Federal Reserve may not raise interest rates any time
soon amid the economic uncertainty following the Brexit vote,
analysts said.
Gold is sensitive to higher rates, which lift the
opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion,
while boosting the dollar, in which it is priced.
Investors poured the most money into U.S.-based funds
invested in precious metals since February, adding $2 billion to
in the latest week, data from Thomson Reuters' Lipper service
showed on Thursday.
Technical analysts at ScotiaMocatta pegged support for gold
at $1,346 and resistance at $1,375.30, with the RSI (relative
strength index) currently showing the yellow metal in slightly
overbought territory and added that profit-taking may emerge in
the short-term.
SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.42 percent to
978.29 tonnes on Thursday from 982.44 tonnes on Wednesday.
GOL/
The dollar edged down against most major currencies in Asian
trade on Friday but remained on track for a weekly gain. USD/
Silver XAG= , which touched a two-year high on Monday, was
trading down 0.1 percent at $19.64.
Among other precious metals, platinum XPT= was down 0.7
percent at $1,078.40 an ounce and palladium XPD= fell 0.8
percent to $602.95 an ounce.