FX.co ★ Gold Edges Higher As Dollar Softens Ahead Of US Jobs Data

Gold prices rose slightly on Friday but were on track for a third weekly fall on worries about a hawkish Fed.

Spot gold rose 0.6 percent to $1,707.07 per ounce but was on track for a weekly decline of nearly 2 percent. U.S. gold futures were up half a percent at $1,717.95.

The dollar dipped but hovered near 20-year highs, as investors awaited the release of all-important U.S. jobs data for August later in the day for clues on the size of the Federal Reserve's next interest-rate hike.

investors also await speeches by ECB Governing Council members as well as U.S. factory orders data for additional clues about inflation and the path ahead for interest rates.

Eurostat data showed earlier today that Eurozone industrial producer price growth accelerated to 37.9 percent in July from 36 percent a month earlier amid a continued surge in energy costs.