U.S. unemployment and wage data are also expected on Friday.
• "Markets will be quiet until the U.S. nonfarm payroll figure comes out," said Peter Fung, head of dealing at Wing Fung Precious Metals.
Spot gold climbed 0.2 percent to $1,239.90 per ounce by 0443 GMT, having hit a near five-month peak at $1,244.32 per ounce in the previous session. With a rise of 1.5 percent this week, gold looked set to clock its best gain since the week of Aug. 24.
U.S. gold futures were marginally higher at $1,244.2 per ounce.
• Gold participants were hopeful after the Wall Street Journal reported that Federal Reserve officials were considering whether to signal a new wait-and-see mentality after a likely interest rate increase at their meeting in December.
• "Gold is sensitive to monetary policy changes," said Mark To, the head of research at Wing Fung Precious Metals in Hong Kong. "If there is a slowing down in interest rate hikes, I think by the end of this year $1,250 to $1,260 should be easily reachable for gold."
Higher interest rates make gold less attractive since it does not pay interest and costs to store and insure.
Meanwhile, the dollar index weakened, pressured by worries about lower U.S. long-term treasury yields, with an inversion of the yield curve signalling a sharp economic slowdown or even a recession down the road.
• Asian shares fought to sustain the slimmest of recoveries as the arrest of smartphone maker Huawei's chief financial officer further soured Sino-U.S. relations.
• Gold-backed exchange-traded funds registered inflows in all the world's major regions in November, as volatile stock markets fueled flight-to-safety buying, the World Gold Council said on Thursday.
• Silver was unchanged at $14.47 per ounce, while palladium slipped 1 percent to $1,197.00 per ounce.
• Platinum fell 0.2 percent, to $785.24 per ounce, extending losses into a fifth successive week. Platinum has slipped 1.3 percent this week.
Reference: CNBC
Thai
Eng