PRECIOUS-Gold heads for weekly gain on safe-haven demand, slow US job growth

By Anmol Choubey

March 7 (Reuters) - Gold prices eased on Friday but were poised for a weekly gain due to safe-haven inflows and a U.S. jobs report revealing lower-than-expected job growth in February, suggesting that the Federal Reserve is on track to cut interest rates this year.

Spot gold XAU= fell 0.1% to $2,906.04 an ounce as of 01.46 p.m. (1846 GMT). Bullion has gained about 1.7% so far this week, as U.S. President Donald Trump's ever-shifting tariff policies fanned uncertainty.

U.S. gold futures GCcv1 settled 0.4% lower at $2,914.10.

The U.S. dollar index =USD tumbled to a four-month low and is heading for its steepest weekly decline since November 2022, making greenback-priced bullion less expensive for foreign buyers.

"Weaker than expected number is giving gold a slight boost ... also a weaker dollar for the week right now is helping," said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.

A Labor Department report showed the U.S. economy added 151,000 jobs in February, compared with a rise of 160,000 expected by economists polled by Reuters, whereas the unemployment rate stood at 4.1% compared with expectations of 4%.

The market is currently in a consolidation phase, with safe haven interest providing ongoing support, said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell earlier in the day said the Federal Reserve will take a cautious approach to monetary policy easing, adding that the economy currently "continues to be in a good place".

Despite being an inflation hedge, higher interest rates may dampen non-yielding gold's appeal.

The market is currently pricing 76 bps of Fed rate cuts by the year-end, starting in June. FEDWATCH

China continued its gold purchases for the fourth consecutive month in February, the People's Bank of China data showed.

Spot silver XAG= fell 0.8% to $32.35 an ounce and platinum XPT= shed 0.6% to $960.70, while palladium XPD= edged 0.4% up to $946.15.