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Gold futures held steady near the prior session’s three-month high in Europe trade on Wednesday, as investors looked ahead to key U.S. data later in the day to gauge if the world's largest economy is strong enough to withstand further rate hikes this year.

The U.S. was to release the ADP jobs report for January at 13:15GMT, or 8:15AM ET, followed by the U.S. Institute of Supply Management’s report on service sector growth for January at 15:00GMT, or 10:00AM ET.

Market players are also focusing on Friday's U.S. nonfarm payrolls report. The consensus forecast is that the data will show jobs growth of 190,000 last month, following an increase of 292,000 in December, while the unemployment rate is forecast to hold steady at 5.0%

China’s gold demand will keep expanding as investors seek safe assets and jewelry buying increases, the China Gold Association said

Gold jewelry demand gained 2.1% to 721.58 tons last year, while bar consumption added 4.8% to 173.08 tons and coin buying rose 78% to 22.8 tons, group data show. Industrial use increased 3.5%.

Stock market turmoil, a weakening currency and the lowest global prices in almost six years have helped boost bullion buying in China. Swiss exports of gold to Hong Kong and the mainland jumped 87% in December from a month earlier, underscoring the flow of metal from west to east. Demand in Asia, which accounts for more than 60% of global use, is fundamentally strong, RBC Capital Markets said this week.

Reference: Investing.com, Economic Time, Business Standard, Fin24