Gold retreats as dollar index perks up ahead of US jobs data report

Gold prices fell on Wednesday as a firmer dollar dampened greenback-priced bullion's appeal for overseas buyers, while investors awaited US jobs report to gauge the Federal Reserve's policy tightening path.

Spot gold was down 0.4% at $1,719.30 per ounce, as of 0401 GMT. Bullion prices hit its highest since Sept. 13 at $1,729.39 in the previous session.

US gold futures dipped 0.1% to $1,728.30.

The dollar index edged 0.2% higher, after the unit shed 1.3% overnight to mark its biggest drop since March 2020. [USD/]

Gold could break above the resistance level of $1,735 in case of a weak ADP employment data, City Index analyst Matt Simpson said, adding markets are very sensitive to employment data at the moment.

The ADP National Employment Report, due at 1215 GMT, comes on the heels of a government survey that showed U.S. job openings fell by the most in nearly 2-1/2 years in August, hinting at a cooling labour market.

This will be followed by the US Labor Department's closely watched nonfarm payrolls (NFP) data scheduled to be released on Friday.

"In case of a miss, traders will probably assume a weak NFP on Friday and that could weaken the dollar as traders get more excited about a Fed pivot and likely strengthen gold," Simpson said.

US Fed officials have recently reiterated their pledge to bring stubbornly high inflation under control.

Even though gold is traditionally seen as a hedge against inflation, rising US interest rates have hurt the appeal of the zero-yielding precious metal and boosted the dollar. Gold is down 6% for the year so far.

Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose by 1.74 tonnes on Tuesday, marking their second straight day of inflows.

Spot silver slipped 1.6% to $20.78 per ounce, platinum fell 0.9% to $921.89 and palladium was down 0.7% at $2,299.24.

(Reporting by Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)