Spot gold was little changed at $1,795.86 per ounce by 0110 GMT and was down 1.6% for the week. US gold futures eased 0.2% to $1,797.20.
The dollar index was flat after easing overnight alongside U.S. Treasury yields.
U.S. Federal Reserve bank Gov. Michelle Bowman added her voice to the growing number of policymakers who say the weak August jobs report will not throw off the central bank’s developing plan to trim its bond purchases later this year.
Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said on Thursday the U.S. economy is “not out of the woods yet,” and challenges remain, including supply chain and labour market bottlenecks.
Gold is viewed as a hedge against inflation and currency debasement. Fed’s tapering would tackle both those conditions thereby diminishing gold’s appeal.
Data showed on Thursday the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell last week to the lowest level in nearly 18 months, offering more evidence that job growth was being hindered by labour shortages rather than cooling demand for workers.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank will trim emergency bond purchases over the coming quarter, it said on Thursday, but was keen to stress it wasn’t about to close the money taps.
SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell to 998.17 tonnes on Thursday from 998.52 tonnes on Wednesday.
Silver fell 0.3% to $24.01 per ounce and platinum rose 0.2% to $978.69.
Palladium gained 1.3% to $2,206.67, bouncing off an over one-year low of $2,143.69 touched in the previous session.
