Gold steady as investors await US jobs data to gauge Fed's taper path

Gold prices were flat on Thursday as investors were largely on the sidelines awaiting the US non-farm payrolls print that is crucial for Federal Reserve's tapering timeline.

Spot gold was steady at $1,811.66 per ounce, as of 0341 GMT.

US gold futures were steady at $1,814.30.

"Market is waiting for the payrolls data to be released to get a bit of a guide on how ultimately inflation expectations will be set," ANZ analyst Daniel Hynes said.

While US jobless claim figures are due at 1230 GMT later in the day, the Labour Department will release the non-farm payrolls report for August on Friday.

The median payrolls forecast of 80 economists polled by Reuters is for 728,000 jobs to have been created in August.

Fed chief Jerome Powell said last week the labour market recovery would determine when the US central bank with start cutting on its asset purchase.

Gold is often considered a hedge against inflation and currency debasement, caused by massive stimulus measures.

Gold rises on weaker dollar

"We're still expecting to see CPI remain relatively high, so for the remainder of the year, that will slowly drag up inflation expectations ... That's likely to see gold push higher," Hynes added.

Meanwhile, the dollar index hovered near multi-week lows, pressured by a private payrolls data that missed expectations.

On the technical front, spot gold may test a resistance at $1,826 per ounce, a break above could lead to a gain at $1,841, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.

Among other precious metals, silver fell 0.3% to $24.10 per ounce, while platinum was down 0.7% at $995.52.

Palladium eased 0.2% to $2,438.55.