PRECIOUS-Gold steady, ETF holdings down as job data eyed

SHANGHAI, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Gold prices were little
changed on Thursday, and holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust fell
for the first time in a week, as investors waited for key U.S.
jobs data due later in the day.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold XAU= was little changed at $1,250.30 an ounce
by 0029 GMT, on course for a weekly gain of 1.2 percent, its
fifth straight week of rises.

* U.S. gold futures for December delivery GCZ0 edged down
0.1 percent to $1,252.3 an ounce.

* Holdings in the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust (GLD.P), fell a sizeable
9.12 tonnes from the previous day to 1,294.908 tonnes on
September 2.It is the first decline in a week and the biggest
one-day drop since late July. [GOL/SPDR]

* Investors are eyeing the August U.S. non-farm payroll
figures due later in the day, expected to show a third straight
month of loss, which could dampen recovery hopes raised by this
week's relatively positive data. [ID:nN31235915]

* Data released on Thursday showed a surprise rebound in
pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes in July, and a
fall in new claims in jobless claims last week. [ID:nN02194957]

MARKET NEWS

* U.S. stocks rose on low volume on Thursday as data showed
improvement in housing and the job market a day ahead of the
critical monthly payrolls figures. [.N]

* The U.S. dollar was steady on Friday, after falling
against major currencies on Thursday as better-than-expected
U.S. housing and job market data boosted risk appetite. [USD/]

DATA/EVENTS

0758 EZ Markit Services PMI Aug EUPMIS=ECI

1130 India M3 Money Supply INM3MS=ECI

1200 Brazil GDP year/year BRGDPY=ECI

1230 U.S. Non-farm payrolls Aug USNFAR=ECI

1340 U.S. ECRI Inflation Aug USECRI=ECI

1400 U.S. ISM non-mfg index Aug USNPMI=ECI

1400 U.S. ISM N-mfg bus act Aug USOPMI=ECI

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PRICES
Precious metals prices at 0029 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1250.30 -0.44 -0.04 14.11
Spot Silver 19.58 0.00 +0.00 16.34
Spot Platinum 1547.50 4.40 +0.29 5.49
Spot Palladium 521.00 0.07 +0.01 28.48
TOCOM Gold 3400.00 19.00 +0.56 4.33
9017
TOCOM Platinum 4225.00 41.00 +0.98 -3.56
5085
TOCOM Silver 53.60 0.80 +1.52 3.68
134
TOCOM Palladium 1418.00 9.00 +0.64 21.72
97
Euro/Dollar 1.2813
Dollar/Yen 84.38
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Rujun Shen and Jacqueline Wong; Editing by
Clarence Fernandez)