Gold slightly higher, all eye on economic data

Gold rose slightly on Friday as investors are anticipating the release of US nonfarm payroll employment data. The Labor Department data showed on Thursday an unexpected rise in the weekly jobless claims.

Gold futures for April delivery rose 0.14% to $2,073.90 per ounce at 10:126 am Makkah time.

Spot prices kept flat at $2,055.93 and platinum spot prices stabilized at $916.61 per ounce.

Silver futures for March delivery increased 0.25% to $23.30 per ounce.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose to 224,000, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week's revised level of 215,000.

The US economy is forecast to add 177,000 nonfarm jobs in January, compared with 216,000 in December. In addition, the unemployment rate is expected to stabilize at 3.7% during the same period.