Gold ticks higher in thin Asia trade as Iran deal, U.S. jobs eyed

Gold price rose slightly in Asia on Friday as investors braced for a U.S. jobs report expected to set the timing for the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates this year as widely expected, while news of a nuclear deal with Iran was being assessed.

Overnight, gold fell after data showed that the number of U.S. jobless claims fell to a nine-week low last week and that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed to the lowest level since 2009 in February.

It is believed that the severe economic and financial sanctions against the Persian Gulf nation will be lifted on a staggered, step-by-step basis depending on how cooperative it is with inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency. Sanctions that have limited the Iranian Banking System will be among the limitations that could be initially removed, NBC News reported.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday that initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined by 20,000 last week to a seasonally-adjusted level of 268,000, the lowest level since January. Economists had expected initial claims to rise to 285,000.