PRECIOUS-Gold inches up, but set for worst week in ten

· 02/04/2021 20:05

Feb 5 (Reuters) - Gold edged up on Friday, recovering from its lowest level in more than two months, but is still on course to post its worst week in ten due to a firmer dollar.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold XAU= rose 0.2% to $1,795.10 per ounce by 0042 GMT. Prices were down 2.7% for the week, it's biggest weekly decline since Nov. 27. U.S. gold futures GCv1 gained 0.4% to $1,797.60.

* On Thursday, prices fell to their lowest since Dec. 1 at $1,784.76.

* Democrats in the U.S. Senate were poised on Thursday to take a first step toward the ultimate passage of President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief proposal. nL1N2KA1PF

* U.S. jobless claims decreased further last week, suggesting the labor market was stabilizing. nL1N2K92L7

* The dollar held firm at a more than two-month peak on Thursday, while longer-term U.S. Treasury yields rose as investors positioned for a large pandemic relief package from Washington and a stabilizing U.S. labor market. USD/ nL1N2KA1XC

* The Bank of England gave British lenders breathing space of at least six months on Thursday before negative interest rates are a possibility. nL1N2KA0T6

* Holdings in the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust GLD rose 0.2% to 1,159.84 tonnes on Thursday. GOL/ETF

* Spot silver XAG= added 0.1% to $26.31 but were down 2.5% for the week. Prices have eased since hitting a near eight-year peak of $30.03 on Monday as the social media-driven rally fizzled out. nL8N2K84DQ

* Australia's Perth Mint said on Thursday its January silver coin sales jumped 23.5% from the previous month. nL1N2KA07Y

* Platinum XPT= shed 0.1% at $1,096.88 an ounce and palladium XPD= gained 0.2% to $2,286.83.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0430 India Cash Reserve Ratio

0430 India Repo Rate, Reverse Repo Rate

0700 Germany Industrial Orders MM Dec

0830 UK Halifax House Prices MM Jan

1330 US Non-farm Payrolls, Unemployment Rate Jan

1330 US Average Earnings YY Jan

1330 US International Trade Dec

(Reporting by Sumita Layek in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)

((Sumita.Layek@thomsonreuters.com; Within U.S. +1 646 223 8780, Outside U.S. +91 8061822693; Reuters Messaging: Sumita.Layek.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))