Feb 12 (Reuters) - Gold held steady on Friday as investors
awaited fresh catalysts, although prices were on track to post
their best week in three, helped by a weaker dollar.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= was steady at $1,825.21 per ounce by 0045
GMT. Prices were up 0.7% so far in the week. U.S. gold futures
GCv1 slipped 0.1% to $1,825.40.
* The dollar .DXY headed for its first losing week in
three as new signs of weakness in the U.S. jobs market dented
investor expectations about the pace of a pandemic recovery.
* U.S. jobless claims fell slightly last week as the labor
market continued to tread water, but a drop in new COVID-19
cases has raised cautious optimism that momentum could pick up
by the spring.
* President Joe Biden plans to ask Congress this month to
invest heavily in infrastructure after his $1.9 trillion
COVID-19 aid package winds its way through Congress in the next
few days without significant Republican support.
* Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping held their
first phone call on Thursday as leaders and appeared at odds on
most issues, even as Xi warned confrontation would be a
"disaster" for both nations.
* A slower-than-expected vaccine rollout and the rise of
coronavirus variants may make attaining herd immunity against
COVID-19 difficult, but that should not stop the economy from
rebounding, according to a U.S. central banker.
* Spot platinum XPT= fell 1.3% to $1,218.67 an ounce, but
was set to post its best week since early December, with a gain
of 8.5%.
* Silver XAG= was unchanged at $26.94 and palladium XPD=
eased 0.1% to $2,342.61.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0700 UK GDP Est 3M/3M Dec
0700 UK GDP Estimate MM, YY Dec
0700 UK Manufacturing Output MM Dec
0700 UK GDP Prelim QQ, YY Q4
1500 US U Mich Sentiment Prelim Feb