• Gold holds steady ahead of key US jobs data.
• Bears are lurking in a key area on the charts. testing a 50% mean reversion area.

Gold price was firmer on Friday as the US Dollar tailed off after data showed that weekly US jobless claims grew more than expected. This led to the market thinking twice with respect to the Federal Reserve's next move.

At the time of writing, the US Dollar index, DXY, was down 0.13%, making the Gold price less expensive for buyers in other currencies. Gold price is holding in the $1,830s on the day so far ahead of the key Nonfarm Payrolls. 

Meanwhile, 'the number of people submitting jobless claims in the US increased. Initial claims rose to 211k in the week to 4 March, while continuing claims (from the prior week) lifted to 1,718k,'' analysts at ANZ Bank explained. 

''This latest data indicates the labour market may be starting to cool, but this data tends to be very volatile so the market will be looking for further evidence that labour demand is cooling. One measure indicating US companies are starting to cut back their workforce is Challenger Job Cuts data, which shows 77,000 jobs were cut during February,'' the analysts added.

''That is not as much as the January figure of 109,243 but it is 410% higher than the previous February, and it is the highest number of jobs cut in any February since 2009. Most of the cuts are coming in the technology, retail and financial sectors.''