Gold resumed its rise for a third straight session on Friday, headed for a weekly gain, ahead of the awaited U.S. non-farm payrolls data.
The precious metal hit a high of $1247.59 an ounce, the highest in 13 months, while currently trading around $1271.90 from the opening at $1263.16.
Asian shares posted their best week in five months this week, yet gains on Friday were muted, as some investors preferred to remain sidelined ahead of the NFP.
The dollar index, which tracks the green currency’s movements versus a basket of major currencies, inched up to 97.64 after dropping the previous two sessions.
The green currency slipped on Thursday after a report showing U.S. initial jobless claims unexpectedly edged up by 6,000 to 278,000 in the week ended Feb. 27.
American employers probably created 195,000 jobs last month, while unemployment rate lingered at its record low of 4.9 percent, the NFP may show.
Any progress in the NFP is likely to encourage policymakers to raise interest rates soon, while the opposite is true.
Dallas Federal Reserve President Robert Kaplan said on Thursday the central bank has to be patient regarding hiking the borrowing cost due to the impact of the tighter financial conditions on the U.S. economy.
The breach of $1263 hit on February 11 helped the metal to resume its rally, targeting $1300 levels.
So far, the yellow metal has gained 19 percent this year, outperforming all commodities as it took advantage of its safe haven characteristic.
Despite the improvement in the equity market, still there is uncertainty about global growth outlook and the Fed’s interest rate prospects.
