LONDON, March 10: Gold steadied above recent lows in quiet trade on Friday, with the market watching moves in the dollar and oil and awaiting US jobs data later.

It traded in a narrow $2 range, against movements of $10-$15 an ounce this week when prices plummeted to three-week lows on heavy selling by funds on firmer dollar and technical factors.

Prices rose since Wednesday, but people remained cautious.

There is not too much interest here, said Wolfgang Wrzesniok-Rossbach, head of precious metals marketing at Germany’s Heraeus.

After the sell-off, now there is not too much selling. We went higher yesterday but there is not too much follow through on the upside either. So, clearly there is uncertainty about the next move, he said.

Spot gold was at $545.00/ 545.90 an ounce by 1038 GMT, compared with $545.60/546.50 in New York late on Thursday. It rose around $3 in the US market after dropping to $538.10 earlier this week.

Purchases from jewellers and investors in Asia helped gold stay above $545, but US jobs data for February, due at 1330 GMT, might shed more light on the economy.—Reuters