Gold up ahead of U.S. job data release

Gold edged up in Asian trade on Thursday ahead of the release of U.S. non-farm payroll data, and the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield and the dollar also rose.

Gold futures improved 0.27% to $1,789.15.

The U.S. ADP Nonfarm Employment Change jumped to 742,000 in April, missing the expected growth figures. However, the growth was the biggest in seven months as businesses boosted their production in response to increasing demand.

Investors are waiting for April’s U.S. monthly jobs report, including the non-farm payrolls, to be released on Friday. Initial jobless claims data for the past week is also due later in the day.

In Britain, the Bank of England is expected to announce its policy decision later in the day. The central bank could announce a slowdown in its COVID-19 emergency support due to a stronger recovery in 2021 than projected.

In other precious metals, palladium dropped 0.1%. Platinum lost 0.4%. Silver joined palladium and platinum on the losing side with a 0.5% slide.