PRECIOUS-Gold firms on softer dollar, yields; all eyes on U.S. data

* U.S. jobless claims, March retail sales data due at 1230
GMT
* Dollar slips to four-week low
* Palladium hits highest since March 18

(Updates prices)
By Sumita Layek
April 15 (Reuters) - Gold gained on Thursday as a weaker
dollar and Treasury yields bolstered bullion's appeal, ahead of
U.S. weekly jobless claims and retail sales data that will shed
light on the pace of recovery in the world's largest economy.
Spot gold XAU= rose 0.5% to $1,744.30 per ounce by 1153
GMT. U.S. gold futures GCv1 gained 0.5% to $1,745.
"Gold's holding up fairly well today... we've seen the
dollar weaken and U.S. 10 year Treasury yields are softer as
well," said CMC Markets UK's chief market analyst Michael
Hewson.
"The big question at the moment is can we take out the highs
that we saw last week, near the 50-day moving average which
currently is capping the current rebound."
Making gold affordable for holders of other currencies, the
dollar .DXY slumped to a four-week low, while softer benchmark
10-year U.S. Treasury yields further boosted bullion's appeal.
USD/ US/
Focus is now on U.S. weekly jobless claims and March retail
sales data due at 1230 GMT.
"A decent jobless claims number or a decent retail sales
number could actually knock gold back down again... these
numbers could be very important in the context of where gold
goes to next," Hewson said.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday
the central bank would cut its monthly bond purchases before
committing to an interest rate hike, clarifying the sequence of
monetary policy adjustments are still months if not years in the
future. "However, gold is unable to make any further significant and
sustainable gains due to a lack of support from financial
investors. There is still no sign of any trend reversal in gold
ETFs," Commerzbank analysts said in a note. GOL/ETF
Silver XAG= gained 0.1% to $25.44 and palladium XPD=
climbed 2% at $2,730.41, having earlier hit its highest since
March 18 at $2,737.46. Platinum XPT= rose 1.2% to $1,184.75.