Gold gains ground as dollar inches down in Asia

Gold futures tilted higher as the dollar index moved little in Asian trade, ahead of US labor data later today. 

As of 04:29 GMT, gold futures due in December rose 0.19% to $1,210.60 an ounce, while the dollar index shed 0.03% to 94.51 against a basket of major rivals. 

Now investors await US unemployment claims for the week ending September 15, expected to increase to 210 thousand from 204K in the previous reading, while continuing claims are estimated at 1.705 million in the week ending September 8, up from 1.696 million.

The Philly Manufacturing Index is estimated at 17.5 in September, up sharply from 11.9, while existing home sales are expected with a 0.8% increase to 5.38 million units in August.