Gold edges up as bargain hunters step in after falls

(Reuters) - Gold edged higher on early Thursday as bargain hunters stepped in to buy after the metal hit fresh three-month lows in the previous session, ahead of Friday's nonfarm payrolls report.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold > was up 0.2 percent at $1,268.60 an ounce by 0058 GMT. Bullion touched a fresh low of $1,261.59 in the previous session, its lowest since June 24.

* U.S. gold futures rose 0.2 percent to $1,270.90 an ounce.

* U.S. services sector activity rebounded to an 11-month high in September, an encouraging sign for economic growth that may increase the prospect of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike this year.

 

* Elsewhere, U.S. private employers added 154,000 jobs in September, below economists' expectations, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday.

* The Bank of England, which signalled a few weeks ago that a fresh interest rate cut was likely next month, has been put on the spot by signs that Britain's economy has weathered the initial shock of the Brexit vote better than expected.

* Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund fell 0.03 percent to 947.63 tonnes on Wednesday.

* Physical gold demand in London jumped after this week's price drop, dealers said on Wednesday.

* The Perth Mint's sales of gold and silver products rose in September.

* A U.S. judge said gold investors may pursue much of their lawsuit accusing four major banks of conspiring for a decade to fix prices and exploit distortions at the expense of investors.

* Negotiations are under way to resolve a week-long blockade at Goldcorp Inc's suspended Peñasquito gold mine in Mexico.

* South Africa's Sibanye Gold has opened its Cooke mine, chief executive Neal Froneman said on Wednesday, a day after suspending work due to violence between rival unions.

* Anglo American Platinum remains confident the disposal of its labour-intensive Rustenburg mines in South Africa to Sibanye Gold will clear its last regulatory hurdle this year.

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(Reporting by Swati Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Pullin)