Sept 1 (Reuters) - Gold on Thursday was above two-month lows hit in the previous session after the dollar gave up gains as investors wait for clues to the next U.S. interest rate hike from a nonfarm payrolls report on Friday.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= edged higher 0.1 percent to $1,309.80 per ounce at 0047 GMT. The metal touched a low of $1,304.91 on Wednesday, its lowest since June 24.
* U.S. gold futures GCcv1 was up 0.1 percent at $1,312.80.
* A payrolls processor showed U.S. private employers added 177,000 jobs in August, above economists' forecasts and supporting expectations for Friday's closely watched U.S. payrolls report to be strong. An upbeat nonfarm payrolls report on Friday would reinforce the view that a U.S. rate hike may be on the cards, after Fed officials sounded a hawkish note at a meeting last weekend.
* On Wednesday, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said the Fed should consider that quicker interest rate rises over time could stave off risks to the economy, while Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said he is increasingly convinced that U.S. economic growth has slowed permanently. The dollar wavered against the yen and euro on Thursday. The dollar index .DXY fell nearly 0.1 percent at 95.981 after rising to 96.255 overnight, its highest since Aug. 9.
* Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 1.27 percent to 943.23 tonnes on Wednesday. GOL/ETF
* U.S. Mint sales of American Eagle gold coins in August fell 42 percent from a year ago while silver coin sales dropped to the lowest since late 2013, a government data showed on Wednesday. Mexico's silver production slumped 9.6 percent in June compared to the same month a year earlier, data from the National Statistics Institute showed. For the top stories on metals and other news, click TOP/MTL or GOL
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
0100 China Official manufacturing PMI August
0100 China Official non-manufacturing PMI August
0145 China Caixin manufacturing PMI final August
0750 France Markit manufacturing PMI August
0755 Germany Markit/BME manufacturing PMI August
0800 Euro zone Markit manufacturing PMI final August
1230 U.S. Weekly jobless claims
1400 U.S. Construction spending July
1400 U.S. ISM manufacturing PMI August