PRECIOUS-Gold gains after Trump tests positive for coronavirus

* Gold up 2.5% this week
* Equities retreat on Trump news
* U.S non-farm payrolls data due at 1230 GMT
* Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus:
https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/

(Adds comment, updates prices)
By Nakul Iyer
Oct 2 (Reuters) - Gold rose on Friday and was set for its
best week in nearly two months as news of U.S. President Donald
Trump's positive test for COVID-19 sent investors scurrying for
safe-haven assets.
Spot gold XAU= was up 0.1% at $1,906.45 per ounce by 1206
GMT, having earlier hit a near two-week high of $1,916.76. U.S.
gold futures GCcv1 eased by 0.2% to $1,912.20.
Bullion has gained 2.5% this week, heading for its biggest
weekly percentage rise since early August.
"It will now be a wait-and-see game where gold will attract
some bids. It's certainly not a market where I see any appetite
for selling gold," said Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen.
Trump said in a tweet that he and his wife Melania had
tested positive for the coronavirus. "It really is a question of how it's going to pan out - is
it going to be a (UK Prime Minister) Boris Johnson-type illness
or (Brazil President) Jair Bolsonaro one, come and gone without
any real impact," Hansen added.
European equities fell and U.S. futures sank on the news,
which also drove investors to the safety of the dollar.
.EU .N MKTS/GLOB
"The only cautionary note will be gold's performance if the
equity sell-off accelerates today," said Jeffrey Halley, a
senior market analyst at OANDA.
Investors often sell bullion to cover losses elsewhere.
Investors now await a U.S. non-farm payrolls report.
Payrolls are expected to have risen by 850,000 in September, a
Reuters survey shows. "If you get a really big beat, that could put some
short-term pressure, but we're so far away from a clear and
sustained labour market tightening that it's not going to set
the overall trend for gold," said Marcus Garvey, strategist,
Macquarie Group.
Elsewhere, silver XAG= rose 0.1% to $23.91 per ounce,
platinum XPT= fell 1.5%, to $883.11 and palladium XPD=
eased by about 0.4% to $2,305.80.