Jan 6 (Reuters) - Gold on Friday hovered near one-month highs touched the session before, with traders waiting for U.S. jobs data later in the day for clues on the pace of possible U.S. interest rate hikes in 2017.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= had eased 0.2 percent to $1,178.53 an ounce by 0056 GMT. The metal on Thursday hit its highest since Dec. 5 at $1,184.90.
* U.S. gold futures GCcv1 were also down 0.2 percent, at $1,179 an ounce.
* Investors are focused on Friday's U.S. non-farm payrolls report, with economists expecting job gains of 178,000 in December.
* U.S. services sector activity held at a one-year high in December as new orders surged, while the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell near a 43-year-low last week, suggesting the economy ended 2016 with strong momentum. A raft of data from China in coming weeks is expected to show the world's second-largest economy carried solid momentum into 2017, thanks to heavy government stimulus and a construction boom that breathed new life into its ailing smokestack industries. Euro zone producer prices rose for the third consecutive month in November on a monthly basis, mostly driven by soaring energy prices which offset subdued prices for consumer goods, estimates released on Thursday by Eurostat showed. SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.03 percent to 813.59 tonnes on Thursday from Wednesday. GOL/ETF
MARKET NEWS
* The U.S. dollar wobbled near three-week lows and U.S. bonds were bought back on Friday as investors wound back 'Trump trade', helping to lift the world's stocks to 1-1/2 year highs. MKTS/GLOB
* Oil prices were little changed on Friday after gaining nearly 1 percent the day before on news that Saudi Arabia had cut production to meet OPEC's agreement to reduce output. O/R
* For the top stories on metals and other news, click TOP/MTL or GOL
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
1000 Euro Zone
Retail Sales
Nov
1000 Euro Zone
Business Climate
Dec
1330 U.S.
Non-Farm Payrolls
Dec
1330 U.S.
Unemployment Rate
Dec
1330 U.S.
International Trade Nov
1500 U.S.
Durable Goods
Nov
1530 U.S.
ECRI Weekly Index