Gold surges

Bengaluru : Gold prices rose for a third straight session on Friday as the dollar slipped further from 2018 highs, while investors turned their focus to the upcoming U.S. jobs data for fresh catalysts.

Spot gold had risen by 0.2 percent to $1,313.46 per ounce by 0405 GMT, but was headed for a third consecutive weekly decline. U.S. gold futures for June delivery rose 0.1 percent to $1,313.90 per ounce.

The dollar eased after Thursday´s profit-taking and that helped gold find some support, a Hong Kong-based trader said.

"People are finding some comfort in buying at these levels heading into the weekend with potential risk of these Chinese talks maybe collapsing," he said.

The dollar index was about 0.1 percent lower at 92.367, moving further away from a 2018 peak of 92.834 hit on Wednesday.

Asian shares stepped back as financial markets turned their attention to the U.S. payrolls data due later in the day.