LONDON: Gold eased on Friday as the dollar firmed ahead of a closely watched US payrolls report later, but the metal stayed on track for its best week in six months after bouncing back from three-week lows on Monday.

Gold’s strong rebound, which saw it post its biggest one-day rise in more than a year, brought some buyers back into the market, analysts said, while physical demand also firmed.

Spot gold was down 0.5 per cent at $1,199.44 an ounce at 1236 GMT, while US gold futures for December delivery were down $7.90 an ounce at $1,199.80. Prices are up 2.8pc this week, their biggest rise since June.

In the physical markets, Chinese buying remained st­e­­ady with premiums un­cha­nged at about $1-$2 on Friday.

Data from the Istanbul Gold Exchange showed gold imports into Turkey more than doubled year on year to 46.9 tonnes in November, its strongest monthly imports in more than six years.

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2014