Gold struggles near 2010 low as data backs Sept. Fed hike view

MANILA (Reuters) - Gold struggled to pull away from a 5-1/2-year low early on Thursday after more upbeat U.S. economic data bolstered expectations the Federal Reserve could lift interest rates as soon as next month.

Spot gold was flat at $1,084.66 an ounce by 0029 GMT. The metal has mostly stayed below $1,100 since falling below that key support level in a late July rout that pushed it as far as $1,077, its weakest since February 2010.

U.S. gold for December delivery slipped 0.2 percent to $1,083.70 an ounce.

U.S. private job growth slowed in July, but a surge in services industry activity to a near-decade high suggested solid economic momentum that strengthens the case for a U.S. interest rate hike this year, the first since 2006.

Investors will be eyeing the U.S. nonfarm payrolls next due out on Friday, with economists polled by Reuters predicting the July number to be the same as June's 223,000 increase.

Barrick Gold Corp , the world's biggest gold miner by output, said it is making big strides towards an ambitious debt reduction target, announcing a financing deal for its Dominican mine, the planned sale of a suite of U.S. assets and a 60 percent cut to its dividend.

The decline in holdings of SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, continued on Wednesday, to 21.47 million ounces, the lowest since September 2008. [GOL/ETF]

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(Reporting by Manolo Serapio Jr.; Editing by Joseph Radford)