PRECIOUS-Gold gains on dip-buying; investors await US inflation data

By Pablo Sinha

Feb 13 (Reuters) - Gold rose on Friday, regaining ground after Thursday's near one-week low, as bargain-hunters stepped in, with investors keeping an eye on key U.S. inflation data due later in the day for cues on the Federal Reserve's policy outlook.

Spot gold XAU= was up 0.7% at $4,951.90 per ounce as of 1158 GMT, but is down 0.1% so far this week. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 for April delivery rose 0.5% to $4,971.70 per ounce.

"Dip-buying by market participants in Asia, where demand for gold has been particularly strong, appears to be driving the rebound in gold prices," said Hamad Hussain, a climate and commodities economist at Capital Economics.

China's gold market saw robust demand heading into the Lunar New Year holiday, while in India, gold flipped to a discount this week for the first time in a month as softer demand amid volatile prices deterred buyers. GOL/AS

Gold slumped about 3% on Thursday, falling to its lowest in nearly a week, as strong U.S. jobs data dampened hopes of near-term Fed rate cuts. A break below $5,000 per ounce deepened losses, as selling pressure intensified.

Data on Wednesday showed the United States added 130,000 jobs in January, compared to analysts' estimates of 70,000.

However, "the moves seem to be irrespective of what the market fundamentals are, not because of them, and the market fundamentals across the (precious metals) complex remain positive," said independent analyst Ross Norman.

Analysts at ANZ on Friday raised their gold forecasts to $5,800/oz from $5,400 for the second quarter, noting that the metal remains an insurance asset against a plethora of uncertainties.

Spot silver XAG= climbed 2.7% to $77.18 per ounce, snapping back from an 11% decline in the previous session. It was on track for a weekly loss of 0.8%.

Spot platinum XPT= edged 0.3% higher to $2,008.96 per ounce and palladium XPD= was up 1.1% at $1,633.75. Both metals were set to notch weekly losses.