Gold rises as weak US data, stimulus hopes bolster appeal

Gold prices rose on Friday as the dollar slipped, while lacklustre US employment data and vows by major central banks to roll out further stimulus if required to revive their coronavirus-hit economies also bolstered the metal's appeal.

* Spot gold climbed 0.4 per cent to $1,951.13 per ounce by 0125 GMT, having fallen to a one-week low in the previous session.

* US gold futures were up 0.6 per cent at $1,960.80.

* The dollar index was down 0.1 per cent against its rivals, making gold more attractive for buyers holding other currencies.

* The weekly jobless claims report from the US Labor Department, the most timely data on the economy's health, showed nearly 30 million people were on unemployment benefits at the end of August, laying bare the continuing economic and human devastation from the coronavirus crisis.

* The Bank of England said it was looking more closely at how it might cut interest rates below zero as Britain's economy faces a triple whammy of rising Covid-19 cases, higher unemployment and a possible new Brexit shock.

* The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy steady and signalled readiness to ramp up stimulus if job losses from the pandemic heightened the risk of deflation.

* Lower US interest rates tend to weigh on bond yields and the dollar, bolstering the appeal of non-yielding gold, which is also seen as a hedge against inflation and currency debasement.

* Swiss exports of gold to the United States all but halted in August while shipments to China and India rose, customs data showed, suggesting a big transfer of bullion to New York that followed the pandemic has run its course.

* Silver fell 0.5 per cent to $26.97 per ounce, platinum dipped 0.4 per cent to $936.69 and palladium slipped 0.8 per cent to $2,316.58.