Gold heads for weekly gain

Gold rose on Friday and was set for a weekly gain after four straight weeks of declines, as weak US jobs data dampened expectations for a near-term Federal Reserve rate hike.

Spot gold was up 1.3 percent at $4,174.21 per ounce at 1241 GMT, after hitting its highest since June 23. Bullion held above its 21-day moving average and is up over 2 percent for the week so far.

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US gold futures for August delivery gained 1.5 percent to $4,186.80/oz. Data on Thursday showed that US nonfarm payrolls rose by 57,000 last month, below the 110,000 expected by economists in a Reuters poll. Gold’s rally was driven by a sharp slowdown in US hiring last month, said Han Tan, chief market analyst at Bybit.