Gold prices were en route to a weekly gain on Friday as uncertainty about the fate of U.S.-China trade deal gripped investors ahead of a U.S. jobs report that could offer further insight on the state of the American economy.
Spot gold was flat at $1,475.36 U.S. an ounce, but headed for a second straight weekly gain, up about 0.8% for the week so far.
U.S. gold futures were down 0.2% at $1,480.40.
A new round of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods is scheduled to take effect on Dec. 15. China wants a halt to new tariffs and an end to existing ones as part of any interim deal to de-escalate the trade war.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said trade talks with China are “moving right along”.
Bullion has gained 15% so far this year, which could be its biggest annual rise since 2010, mainly bolstered by the impact of the 17-month-long U.S.-China trade war on the global economy.
Traders are now bracing for the U.S. non-farm payrolls report due later on Friday to determine how well the U.S. economy is holding up, after a series of weak U.S. economic data reports.
In other precious metals, palladium was unchanged at $1,871.92 U.S., having notched a record high of $1,876.54 an ounce on Thursday on supply concerns for the auto catalyst metal.
Platinum inched 0.1% higher to $897.57 U.S., while silver fell 0.2% to $16.91 U.S. Both were headed for their first weekly decline in four.