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Gold prices were steady in early Asian trade on Friday, after rising about 1.5 per cent in the previous session, while the dollar inched up ahead of the US payrolls data due later in the day.
Spot gold was steady at $1,232.72 per ounce, as of 0116 GMT. Prices had climbed to their highest since October 26 at $1,237.39 per ounce on Thursday after falling for three days in a row. US gold futures were down 0.4 percent at $1,233.8 per ounce.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was up 0.1 per cent.
According to a Reuters survey of economists, non-farm payrolls probably rebounded by 190,000 jobs in October after Florence depressed restaurant and retail payrolls in September.
US-China trade talks
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had both expressed optimism on Thursday about resolving their bitter trade disputes ahead of a high-stakes meeting planned for the two leaders at the end of November in Argentina.
Trump had increased economic pressure on Venezuela's leftist President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday with new sanctions aimed at disrupting the South American country's gold exports.
The US economy is expanding at a 3.0 per cent annualized rate in the fourth quarter, following the latest data on manufacturing activity and construction spending, the Atlanta Federal Reserve's GDPNow forecast model showed on Thursday.
Brexit deal
The UK and the European Union have made progress on a deal to give London's dominant financial centre basic access to EU markets after Brexit, two British officials said, but no agreement has yet been clinched.
SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.90 per cent to 760.82 tonnes on Thursday from 754.06 tonnes on Wednesday.
Global demand for gold rose slightly in the third quarter compared to the same period a year ago as resurgent buying from central banks and retail consumers balanced huge outflows from exchange traded funds, the World Gold Council (WGC) had said on Thursday.
India’s gold demand in 2018 is expected to fall from the previous year as a rally in local prices to five-year highs is likely to dent purchases during key festivals in the December quarter, WGC had said on Thursday.
Sales of gold and silver products by the Perth Mint fell in October, the mint had said on Thursday.
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