Gold has jumped one per cent after US non-farm payrolls data for April came in weaker than expected, boosting expectations the Federal Reserve will delay further interest rate increases.
Bullion prices pared gains later in the session as the US dollar turned higher against a basket of major currencies and New York Fed President William Dudley told the New York Times that two rate hikes in 2016 remain a "reasonable expectation".
The Labor Department report showed the US economy added 160,000 jobs in April, the fewest in seven months, and Americans dropped out of the labour force in droves, signs of weakness that cast doubts on whether the Fed will lift rates before the end of the year.
Spot gold hit a high of $US1,295.70 an ounce after the data and was up 0.8 per cent at $US1,287.51 an ounce at 2:48 pm EDT (0448 Saturday AEST). It was on track to close the week down 0.5 per cent in sharp contrast to last week's biggest increase since early February.