PRECIOUS-Gold jumps on dollar slide, slow U.S. labor market recovery

    * Dollar dips to near 1-week low
    * At least 28 million people still receiving unemployment
checks
    * Silver gains as much as 8.4%
    * Fed officials warn of muted U.S. growth until virus is
contained
    * Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus:
open
tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser

 (Updates prices)
    By Sumita Layek
    Aug 13 (Reuters) - Gold jumped as much as 2.5% on Thursday,
rebounding from a near three-week low hit in the last session,
as the dollar dipped and a slow recovery in the U.S. labor
market reinforced the economic toll from the coronavirus
pandemic.
    Spot gold        rose 1.9% to $1,954.37 per ounce by 2:04 pm
EDT (1804 GMT), having slipped below $1,900 on Wednesday. U.S.
gold futures        settled up 1.1% to $1,970.40.
    U.S. jobless claims dropped below one million last week for
the first time since the start of the pandemic, though at least
28 million people are still receiving unemployment checks,
indicating a weak labor market.             
    "The dollar has been quite weak ... this recovery we've had
(in the labor market) has been the low-hanging fruit. It's an
easy bounce," said Edward Meir, analyst at ED&F Man Capital
Markets.
    "The initial claims are still running at a very high rate,
and there is still a long way to go," Meir said.
    The dollar        was down 0.2% against rivals, its lowest
in nearly a week, bolstering gold's appeal for those holding
other currencies, as Washington continues to remain in a
stalemate over additional stimulus.                   
    Adding to the gloomy outlook, Federal Reserve policymakers
warned U.S. growth would be muted until the coronavirus was
contained.             
    Investors are now eyeing a meeting between the United States
and China on Aug. 15 that aims to review the Phase 1 trade deal.
            
    "The underlying factors in the market have not changed
significantly. The fact that gold did not move still higher when
Sino-U.S. tensions escalated over the weekend signaled that most
of the tailwinds were priced in," said StoneX analyst Rhona
O'Connell in a note. 
    "Investor sentiment remains robust overall."   
    Elsewhere, silver        gained as much as 8.4% and was up
6.6% to $27.25 per ounce, platinum        gained 2.7% to $956.53
and palladium        climbed 1.9% to $2,170.68.

 (Reporting by Sumita Layek in Bengaluru
Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)