* Gold jumped 2 pct on Thursday, up 19 pct year-to-date
* Gold rally may hold even in case of good U.S. jobs number
-HSBC
* Coming up: U.S. nonfarm payrolls at 1330 GMT
(Adds HSBC comment, updates prices)
By Manolo Serapio Jr
MANILA, March 4 (Reuters) - Gold edged lower on Friday, but
was not far off a 13-month peak reached in the prior session
when a weaker dollar and technical buying gave bullion its best
day in two weeks.
Investors are eyeing crucial U.S. nonfarm payrolls data due
later in the day, where a strong reading for February could
stall further gains in the precious metal, now up nearly 19
percent this year and among the top commodity performers.
Spot gold XAU= was down 0.2 percent at $1,260.76 an ounce
by 0601 GMT, after rallying as much as 2.2 percent to $1,267.06
on Thursday, its strongest since Feb. 6, 2015. It has gained 3.2
percent this week.
Gold's retreat was expected after the sharp technical buying
overnight, said Daniel Ang, investment analyst at Phillip
Futures in Singapore. Ang said the modest drop showed "bullish
momentum is very strong at the moment".
U.S. nonfarm payrolls are estimated to have risen by 190,000
last month after increasing by 151,000 in January, according to
a Reuters poll of economists.
There is significant upward momentum in the gold market and
"it would take a markedly positive jobs number to seriously dent
the rally", HSBC analyst James Steel wrote in a note.
Reflecting sustained faith in gold, holdings of SPDR Gold
Trust GLD , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded
fund, rose further to 25.51 million ounces on Thursday, a new
high since September 2014. HLDSPDRGT=XAU
"This leads us to look for the rally to hold, even in the
case of a good (U.S.) jobs number," said Steel.
U.S. gold for April delivery GCcv1 climbed 0.3 percent to
$1,262.20 an ounce.
A "blockbuster" nonfarm payroll numbers is unlikely to have
a major impact on the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy stance,
Mizuho Bank said. "The gradual pace of tightening will be
maintained in the context of China risks, global financial
volatility and the knock-on impact on the U.S. economy," the
bank said in a note.
That should help non-interest yielding gold add to gains in
the short term.
Dallas Federal Reserve President Robert Kaplan called on the
U.S. central bank to be patient when it comes to raising
interest rates, citing the effect of tighter financial
conditions on U.S. economic growth.
Spot silver XAG was steady at $15.25 an ounce and so was
platinum XPT= at $950.10. Palladium XPD= dropped 0.9 percent
to $535.