Gold gained in Asia on Friday with investors keyed up ahead of the latest U.S. jobs report.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for June delivery rose 0.55% to $1,279.35 a troy ounce.

Silver futures for May delivery gained 0.54% to $17.420 a troy ounce, while copper futures for May delivery edged up 0.14% to $2,148 a pound.

Overnight, gold futures inched higher on Thursday, halting a brief three-day losing streak amid a resurgent dollar, as investors awaited a key U.S. monthly jobs report at week's end for clearer indications on the strength of the world's largest economy.

The precious metal is up by approximately 20% since the start of the year and is on pace for one of its strongest first halves in decades.

On Thursday morning, the U.S. Department of Labor said initial jobless claims increased by 17,000 to 274,000 last week, slightly above consensus estimates of 262,000. The amount represented the largest one-week spike in 16 months.

Source: Investing.com