(Bloomberg) -- Gold steadied in Asia after its biggest weekly gain since March as the market waited for fresh indicators on the state of the global economy and the pace of US interest-rate hikes.

Bullion rose 2.2% last week on speculation that the Federal Reserve will reduce the pace of rate increases as the US economy slows. Still, it ended July down for a fourth consecutive month as it continued to lose out to the dollar as a safe-haven option.

US employment data will be in focus this week, with jobless claims for July coming on Thursday and nonfarm payrolls a day later. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said last week the the labor market remains “extremely tight,” referencing a near-record number of job openings and historically low unemployment.

Spot gold declined 0.1% to $1,763.64 an ounce as of 8:54 a.m. in Singapore after being down as much as 0.3% earlier. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was steady after dipping 0.8% last week. Silver and platinum fell, while palladium was little changed.

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Author: Jason Scott