Investing.com - Gold futures edged higher on Friday, but gains were expected to remain limited as Thursday's upbeat U.S. employment data continued to lend support to the U.S. dollar.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for August delivery traded at $1,321.80 a troy ounce during European afternoon trade, up 0.09%.
The August contract settled 0.77% lower on Thursday to end at $1,320.6 a troy ounce.
Gold futures were likely to find support at $1,309.40 an ounce, Thursday's low and resistance at $1,333.20, the high from July 7.
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor said non-farm payrolls rose by 288,000 last month, easily surpassing expectations for an increase of 212,000. The previous month’s figure was revised up to a gain of 224,000 from a previously reported increase of 217,000.
The unemployment rate ticked down to a four-and-a-half year low of 6.1% from 6.3% in May. Analysts had expected the jobless rate to hold steady at 6.3% last month.
The upbeat jobs report fuelled optimism over the strength of the labor market and bolstered the outlook for the broader economic recovery.
Separately, the Institute of Supply Management said its non-manufacturing purchasing manager's index fell to 56.0 last month from a reading of 56.3 in May. Analysts had expected the index to hold steady at 56.3 in June.
Trading volumes were expected to remain thin on Friday, as U.S. markets were to remain closed for the fourth of July holiday.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for September delivery inched rose 0.24% to trade at $21.188 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery slid 0.38% to trade at $3.268 a pound.