Gold steady near five-week low ahead of U.S. jobs data

(Reuters) - Gold prices held steady early on Thursday near a five-week low touched in the previous session, pressured by an uptick in the dollar ahead of U.S. non-farm payrolls data on Friday.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold > was flat at $1,207.46 per ounce at 0030 GMT. The metal hit its lowest since Feb. 1 at $1,206.05 in the previous session.

* U.S. gold futures edged down $1.80 or 0.1 percent to $1,207.60. The dollar index <.DXY> was up 0.1 percent to 102.14.

* Investors are awaiting February non-farm payrolls data on Friday as a barometer of the U.S. economy after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said last week the central bank was poised to lift rates provided jobs and inflation data held up. Her comments were seen as cementing plans for an increase at the Fed's March 14-15 meeting. [FED/DIARY]

 

* The ADP National Employment Report showed its biggest increase in more than a year in February, suggesting the U.S. economy remains on solid ground.

* The European Central Bank is set to keep monetary policy on hold on Thursday as it casts a cautious eye ahead to high-risk elections in the Netherlands and France during an upsurge in populist, anti-establishment sentiment.

* Holdings of the largest gold-backed exchange-traded-fund (ETF), New York's SPDR Gold Trust GLD, remained unchanged on Tuesday from Monday. [GOL/ETF]

* The biggest risk facing the world's top gold producers is their reluctance to hunt for big new discoveries in emerging markets, with most sticking to so called safe jurisdictions, said the head of Randgold Resources Ltd on Wednesday.

* The Perth Mint's sales of gold products dipped in February to the lowest in six months, while silver sales more than halved from the previous month, the mint said in a blog post on its website on Wednesday.

* Precious metals miner Hochschild Mining Plc swung to a pretax profit in 2016, helped by strong output at its Inmaculada mine in Peru and a more favourable pricing environment.

* Britain's economy is likely to feel the pain of Brexit more sharply in the coming years despite holding up well so far, according to finance minister Philip Hammond's latest plan to steer the economy through its split from the European Union.

DATA/EVENT AHEAD (GMT)0130 China Consumer prices Feb0130 China Producer prices Feb1245 European Central Bank interest rate announcement1330 European Central Bank press conference1330 U.S. Import prices Feb1330 U.S. Export prices Feb1330 U.S. Weekly jobless claims

(Reporting by Arpan Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Pullin)