U.S. nonfarm payrolls report due on Friday
Traders see 75 chance of a 25bps rate cut in Dec
Powell says Fed can afford to be a little more cautious

Dec 5 Reuters Gold prices edged lower on Thursday as investors held back from placing big bets ahead of U.S. nonfarm payrolls data that could influence the Federal Reserve39;s interest rate trajectory.

Spot gold was down 0.2 at 2,645.02 per ounce, as of 0848 GMT. U.S. gold futures also eased 0.2 to 2,669.70.

The market39;s focus is on initial jobless claims due later in the day and U.S. nonfarm payrolls NFP report on Friday, with the payrolls likely increasing by 200,000 jobs in the month after rising by only 12,000 in October.

A robust NFP number is more or less priced in, and if we see weakness in the report, it could add some support to gold prices as the market is kind of pricing in that the U.S. economy is doing quite well, said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.

I think for now we39;re approaching the yearend. Big decisions are not being made at this point in time. So, it39;s mostly intraday stuff and perhaps some profittaking emerging ahead of yearend, Hansen said.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that the U.S. economy is stronger than expected and suggested a more cautious stance towards interest rate cuts. Echoing this, San Francisco Fed Bank President Mary Daly said there is no urgency in cutting rates.

Traders are pricing in a 75 chance of a 25basispoint cut at the Fed39;s Dec….