PRECIOUS-Gold steadies in tight range as virus fears offset solid U.S. jobs data

* Better-than-expected U.S. jobs data lifts stocks
* SPDR Gold Trust holdings rise 0.8% on Thursday
* Platinum eyes first weekly rise in six
* Silver on track for fourth straight weekly gain
* Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus:
open
https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser.

(Updates prices)
By Brijesh Patel
July 3 (Reuters) - Gold was flat, trading in a narrow
$5-range on Friday, as worries over a global surge in
coronavirus infections and lingering trade tension between the
United States and China overshadowed strong U.S. jobs data.
Spot gold XAU= was mostly unchanged at $1,775.35 per ounce
by 0647 GMT. U.S. markets are closed on Friday ahead of
Independence Day on July 4.
U.S. gold futures GCv1 eased 0.3% to $1,785.
"Nagging doubts appear to remain in investors' minds about
the explosion of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. sunbelt states and
its possible negative effect on the recovery going forward,"
said Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at OANDA.
The United States reported more than 55,000 new infections
on Thursday, a new daily global record in the pandemic that has
infected more than 10.89 million people worldwide. "Geopolitical considerations are also to the fore... with a
holiday in the United States, and the weekend upon us, some
haven-directed buying of gold is definitely evident," Halley
added.
Markets also kept a wary eye on China's trade relations with
the United States.
More than 75 members of the U.S. Congress sent a letter to
President Donald Trump urging him to make a formal determination
of whether China's treatment of Muslim Uighurs and other groups
constituted an atrocity. Indicative of sentiment, holdings of SPDR Gold Trust GLD ,
rose 0.8% to 1,191.47 tonnes on Thursday. GOL/ETF
Stemming bullion's advance, better-than-expected U.S. jobs
reports lifted sentiment in wider financial markets. MKTS/GLOB
The U.S. economy created jobs at a record clip in June, but
31.5 million Americans were collecting unemployment checks in
the middle of the month. Palladium XPD= fell 0.4% to $1,893.12 per ounce, while
platinum XPT= rose 0.8% to $809.50, set for its first weekly
gain in six.
Silver XAG= gained 0.4% to $17.97, heading for its fourth
consecutive weekly gain.