Gold Price Hits One-year High As US Dollar Lags

Gold prices hit a fresh one-year high early on Friday as the dollar sagged on the back of weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data and the euro firmed.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold nudged up to $1,350.46 per ounce, its highest since September 2016, and was little changed at $1,349.43 at 0056 GMT.

* U.S. gold futures <GCcv1> for December delivery were up 0.3 percent at $1,354.40.

* The euro hovered below a 2-1/2-year high versus the dollar on Friday, with the U.S. currency losing traction after a policy meeting by the European Central Bank did little to support the beleaguered greenback.

* The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits jumped to a more than two-year high last week amid a surge in applications in hurricane-ravaged Texas, but the underlying trend remained consistent with a strong labor market.

* The Federal Reserve should continue gradually raising U.S. interest rates given low inflation should rebound, New York Fed President William Dudley said in a Thursday speech that sounded slightly less confident than his previous hawkish comments in the face of weak price readings.

* Once the Federal Reserve starts its years-long plan to shrink its balance sheet, the U.S. central bank will not be reassessing it each meeting as it does its interest-rate decisions, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said on Thursday.

* The euro's strength is already weighing on inflation and will be a key factor for the European Central Bank next month when it decides how to proceed with its massive stimulus programme in 2018, ECB President Mario Draghi said on Thursday.

* The ECB lowered some of its inflation projections to reflect a firming euro but lifted some growth forecasts after the euro zone economy registered its best growth run in a decade.

* U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would prefer not to use military action against North Korea to counter its nuclear and missile threat but that if he did it would be a "very sad day" for the leadership in Pyongyang.

* The euro zone economy grew at a robust pace in the three months to June, driven mostly by higher domestic demand and investment, official data released on Thursday confirmed.