Investing.com - Gold prices inched up toward a four-week high on Monday, as market players awaited further evidence to gauge if the world's largest economy is strong enough to withstand higher borrowing costs in the months ahead.
Gold for February delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange tacked on $3.55, or 0.3%, to $1,176.95 a troy ounce by 3:45AM ET (08:45GMT), after falling $7.90, or around 0.7%, on Friday.
Prices of the yellow metal touched $1,185.90 last Wednesday, a level not seen since December 5.
Gold tallied a gain of about 2% last week, its best weekly performance in two months, after minutes from the Federal Reserve's December meeting unsettled investors' expectations about the pace of future interest rate hikes.
U.S. jobs data released Friday showed a slowdown in hiring in December but a pickup in wage growth.
The Labor Department said Friday the U.S. economy added 156,000 jobs in December, falling short of economists forecast for jobs growth of 178,000.
The report also showed that the annual rate of wage growth rose to 2.9% in December from a year earlier, the strongest since 2009.
The employment data indicated that the economy is improving enough for the Fed to keep pushing up interest rates.
However, traders remained unconvinced of the U.S. central bank's projection of three rate hikes in 2017. Instead, investors are pricing in just two rate hikes during the course of this year, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
Global financial markets will continue to focus on key U.S. reports in the week ahead, with Friday's retail sales data in the spotlight.
In addition, there are a handful of Fed speakers on tap, including Chair Janet Yellen, as traders look for more clues on the likelihood of higher interest rates later this year.
Meanwhile, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is to hold a press conference which investors will be watching for any hints about the possible direction of economic policy.
Also on the Comex, silver futures for March delivery added 0.8 cents, or less than 0.1%, to $16.53 a troy ounce during morning hours in London.
Meanwhile, platinum rose 0.7% to $977.20, while palladium advanced 0.45% to $761.70 an ounce.
Elsewhere in metals trading, copper futures were little changed at $2.545 a pound.