Gold rose with the fall of the dollar
Gold prices rose today, supported by the weakness of the dollar, while market participants prepared for data on US jobs that may affect the policy path of the Federal Reserve (US Central Bank).
By 0302 GMT, spot gold rose 0.1% to $1856.11 an ounce, after reaching its highest level in nearly seven months in the previous session.
US gold futures also rose 0.1% to $1,861.20.
The dollar index fell 0.1%, making gold priced in the US currency more attractive to foreign investors.
"Gold has had a good start to the year, supported by dollar weakness and expectations of the Federal Reserve slowing interest rate hikes. Recession risks should support ... bullion this year," said Brian Lan, director at Singapore-based GoldSilver Central.
"If the jobs data shows that interest rate hikes have affected the economy, the dollar could weaken further and benefit gold," he added.
The ADP National Employment Report is due at 1315 GMT.
It will be followed by the US Department of Labor's release of non-farm payrolls data on Friday, which is highly watched.
The minutes of the Federal Reserve's December monetary policy meeting, released last night, showed officials agreeing that the US central bank should slow the pace of sharp interest rate increases.
The yellow metal is seen as a hedge against inflation and economic uncertainty, but high interest rates tend to put pressure on gold, which does not yield a return.
As for other precious metals, silver settled in spot transactions at $ 23.74, while platinum increased 0.2% to $ 1080.88, and palladium rose 0.3% to $ 1793.38.
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