PRECIOUS-Volatile gold heads for weekly gain after falling about 1%

* Gold up 1.3% so far this week
* Palladium falls over 2%
* Platinum, silver set for first weekly decline in four
* Markets eye U.S. non-farm payrolls report due later

(Updates prices)
By K. Sathya Narayanan
Aug 2 (Reuters) - Gold was on course for a weekly gain of
around 1.3% on Friday despite volatile trading which saw prices
fall as much as 1%after they scaled a two-week peak and as
bullion faced technical resistance at $1,450.
Spot gold XAU= was down 0.6% at $1,436.83 per ounce by
1228 GMT, after earlier hitting $1,446.10, while U.S. gold
futures GCcv1 were up 1.2% at $1,449.
Bullion rose more than 2% on Thursday after U.S. President
Donald Trump said he would slap an extra 10% tariff on $300
billion worth of Chinese imports and would raise it further if
trade talks do not progress. "(It's) a bit of psychological move. Prices have been around
these levels ($1,440-$1,450) a few times now, and it has
difficulty to push higher, which makes investors a bit more
nervous," ABN Amro analyst Georgette Boele said.
However, gold could break above $1,450 if the dollar comes
under pressure due to weak U.S. data, she added.
U.S. non-farm payrolls data on Friday will be scrutinised
for clues on economic strength, two days after the Federal
Reserve cut interest rates for the first time in a decade.
Lower interest rates tend to boost gold as it reduces the
opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion and also weighs
on the dollar.
Meanwhile, holdings of SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's
largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.5% to 827.82
tonnes on Thursday. GOL/ETF
Spot gold may retest resistance at $1,449 per ounce, a break
above which could lead to a rise into the $1,461-$1,474 range,
Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said. TECH/C
Elsewhere, palladium XPD= fell 2.5% to $1,388.30 per
ounce, after sliding below the $1,400 level for the first time
since mid-June to its lowest level in more than seven weeks at
$1,378.50.
Platinum XPT= was down 0.3% at $845.76 an ounce, while
silver XAG= fell 1.1% to $16.14.
"The scenario is slightly more complicated for silver, as
the component of the demand for this metal coming from the
industrial sector is much higher than gold and the trade war
could have a more significant impact," Carlo Alberto De Casa,
Chief Analyst, ActivTrades, said in a note.
Both silver and platinum were headed for their first weekly
decline in four.

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