Spot gold gained 0.2% to $1,814.27 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures added 0.1% to $1,816.00

Prices of gold inched up on Wednesday on a subdued dollar, but the precious metal moved in a narrow range as investors awaited signals from U.S. jobs data on the labour market recovery.

Spot gold gained 0.2% to $1,814.27 per ounce by 0303 GMT, while U.S. gold futures added 0.1% to $1,816.00.

Gold, like the currency markets, appears to be in wait-and-see mode, said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst for Asia Pacific at OANDA.

Gold’s price action remains consolidative but structurally positive and I believe that points to further gains ahead. The converging 100- and 200-day moving averages suggest a breakout is coming and I believe Friday’s U.S. data will be a catalyst, he said.

The National Employment Report by payrolls processing firm ADP due later in the day could set the stage for the much anticipated U.S. non-farm payroll numbers on Friday.

The labour market would take time to heal from the effects of the pandemic and more is needed to be done for the economy to get fully back on track, U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman said on Tuesday. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly echoed the views.

The dollar was pinned near recent lows against other currencies.

Dovish remarks last week by Jerome Powell, the chairman of the U.S. central bank, on interest rate hikes being “ways away” had pushed gold up by 1% while the dollar dropped to a one-month low.

Indicative of sentiment, holdings in SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, dropped 0.2% to 1,027.97 tonnes on Tuesday.

Silver added 0.4% to $25.65 per ounce, while platinum gained 0.1% at $1,050.39. Palladium advanced 0.2% to $2,652.99 per ounce, having hit a one-week high of $2,707.28 in the previous session.