Gold prices steady

London
Gold was flat on Thursday as the dollar steadied and investors awaited U.S. employment data that could bolster prospects of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates as early as next month.
US non-farm payrolls are due on Friday and economists polled by Reuters predict employment in July to increase at the same pace as June's 223,000 rise.
Spot gold was unchanged at $1,084.10 an ounce by 0943 GMT. The metal breached important technical support at $1,100 after a deep rout in late July pushed it as low as $1,077, its weakest since February 2010.
US gold for December delivery was down 0.1 percent at $1,084.20 an ounce. "The only supporting factor for gold is the fact that there is a big short in the market but it needs some piece of news to give gold a $20 boost to above $1,105 to see any meaningful short covering," Saxo Bank senior manager Ole Hansen said.