Investing.com - Gold prices dipped in Asia on Thursday with the dollar in focus ahead of US nonfarm payrolls at the end of the week.
Gold futures for August delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 0.76% to $1,262.16 a troy ounce.
Overnight, gold prices fell but remained near seven-week highs on Wednesday, after ADP data missed expectations, pressuring the dollar to sink to its lowest level for the year, making gold attractive to buyers holding other currencies.
Investor sentiment soured on nonfarm payrolls due Friday after private sector job creation – which often serves as precursor to nonfarm payrolls – missed forecasts.
ADP and Moody's Analytics said U.S. private employers added just 178,000 jobs for the month, short of analysts’ forecasts of 185,000.
Gains in gold, however, were limited as investors digested comments from Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester suggesting the central bank can stick to its gradual approach to monetary tightening, as it could help prolong economic expansion.
“I see benefits to this consistency: it removes some ambiguity and it underscores the fact that we set monetary policy systematically, with a focus on the medium-run outlook and risks around the outlook and their implications for our policy goals,” Mester said in remarks to the Community Bankers Association of Ohio in Cincinnati.
Also weighing on gold futures this week, was data showing a drop in physical demand for the yellow metal.
Gold prices in India last week recorded the biggest discount in seven months as a rebound in prices hurt retail demand while imports of the precious metal are expected to come under pressure amid a seasonal slowdown.
According to Thomson Reuters GFMS “With imports in the first half already near the whole of 2016 volumes, it is less likely in our view that imports will cross 250 tonnes in the second half.”