May 7 (Reuters) - Gold prices on Friday hovered near a
2-1/2-month high, aided by a pullback in the dollar and Treasury
yields as investors cautiously await U.S. non-farm payrolls data
for further cues on the health of the world's biggest economy.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was steady at $1,814.33 per ounce by 0028
GMT, after hitting its highest since Feb. 16 at $1,817.90 in the
previous session.
* U.S. gold futures GCv1 were down 0.1% at $1,814.30 per
ounce.
* The dollar index .DXY slipped to a one-week low against
its rival, making gold less expensive for other currency
holders. USD/
* Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields US10YT=RR hovered
close to a two-week low. Lower bond yields reduce the
opportunity cost of holding non-interest bearing gold.
* Markets await U.S. monthly jobs report scheduled for
release at 08:30 a.m. EST on Friday. Economists expect 978,000
new U.S. jobs for April, according to a Reuters poll.
* Data on Thursday showed the number of Americans filing new
claims for unemployment benefits fell below 500,000 last week
for the first since the COVID-19 pandemic started more than a
year ago. * The economic outlook is brightening but more improvements
are needed before the Federal Reserve will start to scale back
monetary support, Cleveland Fed Bank President Loretta Mester
said on Thursday. * Palladium XPD= eased 0.1% to $2,942.82 per ounce, moving
further away from an all-time high of $3,017.18 hit earlier this
week.
* Silver XAG= edged 0.1% lower to $27.26 per ounce, while
platinum XPT= was steady at $1,252.41.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0145 China Caixin Services PMI April
0600 Germany Industrial Output MM March
0645 France Reserve Assets Total April
1230 US Non-Farm Payrolls April
1230 US Unemployment Rate April
N/A China Exports, Imports YY April
N/A China Trade Balance April