Gold set for another weekly gain; focus on US jobs report

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gold was little changed on Friday ahead of a key U.S. jobs report but the metal looked poised to post a gain for a sixth week out of seven as global equities remained on edge over economic growth concerns.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was largely flat at $1,256.35 an ounce by 0020 GMT. It has gained about 1 percent this week.

* Silver, tracking gold, is up 4 percent this week - its biggest weekly gain since mid-August.

* The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, in a boost to the labour market outlook and the broader economy.

* The upbeat news, however, was undermined somewhat by other data on Thursday showing a slump in U.S. exports in December.

* Markets are now awaiting the release of U.S. nonfarm payrolls data to gauge the strength of the economy and its likely impact on the Federal Reserve's stimulus tapering.

* Chinese markets open after the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, and could provide a boost to the physical market.

* Kyrgyzstan's parliament gave the government up to four months to finalize a draft deal with Canada's Centerra Gold on forming a 50-50 joint venture to run the country's Kumtor gold mine.

* A sharp fall in the Turkish lira and rising world gold prices curbed Turkey's demand for gold in January, slashing monthly bullion imports by more than 80 percent, data from the Istanbul Gold Exchange showed.

(Reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing by Richard Pullin)