Gold slides back closer to over 4-month lows, focus remains on NFP

   •  Fails to build on tepid recovery move beyond $1250 level.
   •  Persistent USD strength capping any recovery attempts.
   •  Risk-on mood adds to the downward pressure. 

Gold surrendered majority of the early modest recovery gains and is currently placed at the lower end of its daily trading range, around the $1245 region.

The precious metal edged up during the Asian session on Friday as investors resorted to bargain hunting, especially after the overnight slump to its lowest level in more than four months. The initial uptick, however, turned out to be short-lived and was being capped by a strong follow-through US Dollar, which tends to dent demand for dollar-denominated commodities - like gold.

Meanwhile, a goodish pickup in the US Treasury bond yields was also seen driving flows away from the non-yielding yellow metal. Moreover, the prevalent risk-on mood, as depicted by strong gains across global equity markets, further dented the precious metal's safe-haven appeal and collaborated to the slide over the past hour or so.

The downside, however, might now be cushioned, at least for the time being, as traders seemed to refrain from placing aggressive bets ahead of the keenly watched US monthly jobs data (NFP), due for release later during the early NA session. 

Technical levels to watch

A follow-through weakness back below $1245 level now seems o pave the way for a continuation of the commodity's downward trajectory towards $1240 level en-route $1236 support.

On the upside, $1249-50 area now seems to have emerged as an immediate hurdle, above which a bout of short-covering could lift the metal towards $1257 intermediate hurdle ahead of $1261-62 supply zone.