Gold slipped in early European trading session on Friday, extending downbeat moves after having hit two-month lows in the previous session. The precious metal has been under pressure as the dollar was lingering at seven-week highs against other major counterparts thanks to optimism over the outlook for the U.S. economy.

Contracts tied to gold for November delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 0.21% to $ 1,268.70 a troy ounce, hovering near the weakest level since August 09^th. Demand for the greenback has been bolstered on the back of hawkish comments from the Federal Reserve policy makers that signal one more rate hike at the end of this year.

Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker on Thursday did not only echoed his colleagues’ claims but also said that he expected three rate increases next year. Upbeat U.S. data also support market participants’ sentiment, helping strengthen the greenback and put pressure on dollar-denominated gold prices.

Investors are awaiting U.S. non-farm payrolls data which is scheduled to be released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics later in the day. Analysts forecast a slowdown in new jobs added last month due to disruptions from two major hurricanes in September.

Indeed, U.S. economy is anticipated to have created 90,000 jobs in September while jobless rate is expected to remain unchanged at 4.4 percent.

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