Gold eased within recently established ranges in Europe on Thursday as the dollar probed higher against major currencies, but moves were restricted by caution ahead of US jobs data on Friday, dealers said.
Spot gold fell to $406.25/407.00 per troy ounce by 1448 GMT from $408.20/409.00 late on Wednesday in New York.
Economists expect a median rise of about 150,000 jobs in US non-farm payrolls for August at 1230 GMT Friday, much higher than July's surprising 32,000 new jobs.
Friday's labour report is being watched closely by markets as it could yield vital clues on short term interest rate direction.
Any Federal Reserve tightening would tend to boost demand for the US currency and dull the attraction of dollar-priced gold for non-US investors.
"We're drifting around aimlessly with euro/dollar ahead of the figures tomorrow, there's unlikely to be any change until then," a trader said.
The euro had fallen to $1.2157 against the dollar after peaking earlier just shy of $1.2200.
Dealers said that bullion had fallen after failing to crack resistance at $410 earlier this week in a wave of buying that followed news of troubles at mid-tier producer Sons of Gwalia.
The company said on Monday it had moved into voluntary financial administration after discovering its mines might not have enough gold to meet its hedging commitments.
"We ran into resistance at the $410 level because the market had previously been dominated by some restructuring after Gwalia. It seems that the restructuring has been done now and that is capping the market," a European trader said.
Barclays Capital said in a daily report that gold's failure to break and hold above $410 this week despite a firmer euro and the Gwalia news was a cause for concern.
"The potential next week for a bout of stale long liquidation appears considerable," Barclays added.
Silver fell with gold to $6.70/6.73, from $6.76/6.79 in New York on Wednesday. Platinum hit a two-week high at $873.00 in Asian activity earlier on Japanese buying, before dropping back to $868.00/$872.00, from $867.00/872.00 in the US market, while palladium fell marginally to $211.00/215.00 from $212.00/217.00 previously.
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