Gold prices were subdued on Friday as the dollar strengthened, but they were stuck in a narrow range ahead of U.S. non-farm payrolls data that could provide further clarity on the economic damage from the coronavirus.
Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,610.46 per ounce early Friday morning. The metal has declined nearly 0.5% so far this week after an 8% jump in the previous week.
U.S. gold futures dropped 0.6% to $1,627.90 U.S. per ounce.
Safe-haven gains for the U.S. dollar limited gold’s advance, with the dollar index edging towards a 2% weekly rise as global recession fears intensify.
U.S. non-farm payroll numbers roll in Friday morning in North America. Economists are forecasting job losses of 100,000 for last month, a sharp reversal from gains of 273,000 in February.
On Thursday, gold gained 1.2% after the number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits last week shot to another record high as more jurisdictions enforced stay-at-home measures to curb the pandemic.
Global coronavirus cases surpassed one million on Thursday, with more than 53,000 deaths as the outbreak spread further in the United States and the death toll climbed in Spain and Italy.
Among other metals, palladium slipped 0.9% at $2,193.71 U.S. an ounce on Friday, while platinum dipped 1.8% to $713.72. Both metals were set to register a weekly loss.
Silver shed 1.2% to $14.36 U.S. per ounce.