Gold dips, on track for fifth straight weekly decline

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Gold slipped early Friday and was headed for its fifth straight weekly decline, as the dollar and Asian stocks steadied and the market awaited the U.S. non-farm payrolls data due later in the day.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold dipped 0.2 percent at $1,207.80 per ounce by 0052 GMT. Gold is on track to register its fifth straight weekly decline, and was currently down about 0.3 percent for this week.

* U.S. gold was down 0.2 percent at $1,210.40

* The dollar index held near a two-month peak, leaving it poised for a breakthrough should non-farm payrolls due later in the day bolster expectations for an imminent hike in U.S. rates. [USD/]

* Asian shares held steady on Friday as investors braced for U.S. payrolls data. [MKTS/GLOB]

* U.S. private employers increased hiring in May and new applications for jobless benefits fell last week, further boosting the economic outlook for the second quarter. Another report on Thursday showed planned layoffs by U.S.-based employers fell 53 percent to a five-month low last month.

* The steady stream of upbeat data suggest the economy is regaining momentum after growth slowed sharply at the start of the year, which could allow the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates later this month or in July.

* Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan on Thursday reiterated his view that the central bank should raise interest rates soon because the economy is getting "pretty darn close" to full employment and inflation is starting to rise.

* Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.51 percent to 875.20 tonnes on Thursday from 870.74 tonnes on Wednesday, the highest since October 2013.

* The Perth Mint's sales of gold products fell to the lowest in four years, while silver sales dropped to a nine-month low as consumers awaited a further fall in prices on expectations of an earlier-than-expected U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate hike.

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(Reporting by Vijaykumar Vedala in Bengaluru; Editing by Michael Perry)