Gold dips on firmer dollar after U.S. jobs data

Gold dipped in early trade on Thursday, extending its losses from the previous session on a firmer dollar following stronger-than-expected U.S. employment data.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold slipped about 0.2 percent to $1,355.60 an ounce by 0056 GMT. Bullion ended down 0.4 percent at $1,357.50 on Wednesday.

* U.S. gold edged down 0.2 percent at $1,362.30 an ounce.

* U.S. private employers added 179,000 jobs in July, above economists' expectations, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday.

* The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was firm at 95.562 , holding well above a six-week low touched earlier this week.

* Economists polled by Reuters are looking for U.S. non-farm employment to have risen by 180,000 in July, while the unemployment rate is forecast to edge down to 4.8 percent from June's 4.9 percent. The official payrolls numbers are released on Friday.

* The Bank of England is poised to cut interest rates for the first time since 2009 later on Thursday, as Britain's economy teeters on the brink of recession after June's vote to leave the European Union.

* Low inflation allows the Federal Reserve to keep U.S. interest rates lower for longer in order to boost the economy and jobs, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said.

* Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans on Wednesday offered a lukewarm endorsement of an interest rate increase later this year.

* Euro zone business activity expanded a touch faster than expected last month as the region appeared, so far, to have largely shrugged off Britain's vote to leave the European Union, a survey found.

* Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 0.03 percent to 969.65 tonnes on Wednesday.

MARKET REPORT

* Asian shares firmed on Thursday after a rebound in oil prices from four-month lows.

* Oil prices jumped more than 3 percent on Wednesday, with U.S. crude futures returning to above $40 a barrel, after a larger-than-expected gasoline draw offset a surprise build in crude stockpiles in the No. 1 oil consumer.

DATA AHEAD (GMT)

1100 Bank of England announces interest rate decision and releases inflation report 1230 U.S. Weekly jobless claims 1400 U.S. Factory orders for June

(Reporting By Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Pullin)