Gold loses about $1 an ounce in Asia

Gold prices retreated more than $1 in Asia as the US dollar steadied, prompting some bullion sales, though selling was checked by uncertainty over the US economic outlook ahead of key employment data later on Friday.
Spot gold was quoted flat on the day at $622.75/23.50 versus $623.90/4.90 in late New York trade. "We're seeing some stability return to the dollar and that's slowing down gold," a trader said. Gold, like most predominantly US dollar-denominated commodities, is a better buy for overseas investors when the dollar is weak.
A stronger moving dollar is often a tip-off for those same investors to sell. Gold hit an eight-week high above $620 an ounce on Thursday as buyers jumped into a technical rally encouraged by a weaker dollar.
Gold futures are up almost $52 since starting to rally on October 24 from $576 an ounce. Fewer gold sales by central banks holding thousands of tonnes in reserves, waning global mine production and demand from jewellery buyers, was lending general support for higher bullion prices, though currency swings remain the key driver, said traders. "The fundamentals are contributing to a positive outlook, but the dollar is the real driver," one said.
The dollar won a reprieve from recent weakness on Friday as a holiday in Japan drained liquidity and investors turned cautious ahead of US job data. The dollar had been losing ground for the past week or so as US economic data took a decided turn for the worse, supporting bullion prices. Traders are now looking to Friday's US non-farm payrolls data for October for clues to the direction of the US economy and in turn the dollar and gold.
A figure below around 100,000 jobs is expected to hurt the US dollar, potentially driving gold prices up, while a higher figure could give the greenback more clout and send gold smarting. The latest median forecast of economists polled by Reuters predicted a 125,000-job increase in non-farm payrolls in October.
The US Labour Department will issue the October payroll report. Spot platinum was at $1,153/$1,160 an ounce against $1,155/1,161 in late New York. Spot palladium last fetched $323/328 an ounce versus $321/326 in late New York. Spot silver was flat on the bid at $12.53/12.58 an ounce versus $12.53/60.