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By Bloomberg

Gold held below $1,200 before monthly jobs data later this week that may provide clues on when the Federal Reserve will boost interest rates.

Bullion for immediate delivery fell 0.1 percent to $1,187.04 an ounce at 11:41 a.m. in Singapore, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. Gold in Shanghai advanced.

Gold last week erased this year’s gains after the Fed said U.S. growth will rebound, damping speculation rate rises may be delayed amid mixed data on the economy. Fed Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans said on Monday the central bank should wait for more evidence wages are rising before boosting rates, while two other officials said last week the bank is ready to increase them at any meeting. Assets in gold-backed exchange-traded products held near a six-week high.

“The market will remain focused on the U.S. payrolls number to be released this week,” Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. wrote in an e-mailed note. “A weak print could see gold push above $1,200 an ounce.”

Employers in the U.S. added 230,000 workers in April, up from 126,000 in March, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey before the Labor Department report. The unemployment rate may drop to 5.4 percent from 5.5 percent.

Higher rates drive investors to favor assets that pay interest, such as bonds, curbing gold’s appeal as a store of value, since it generally offers returns only through price gains. The Fed said last week it expects the economy to pick up after growth ground to a virtual halt in the first quarter.

Holdings in gold-backed ETPs were at 1,626.81 metric tons on Monday from 1,627.3 tons on Friday, the highest since March 19, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Gold for June delivery dropped 0.1 percent to $1,186.20 on the Comex after rising 1.1 percent on Monday. Bullion of 99.99 percent purity rose 0.3 percent to 237.59 yuan a gram ($1,190.09 an ounce) on the Shanghai Gold Exchange.

Silver for immediate delivery rose 0.1 percent to $16.4281 an ounce. Palladium declined 0.1 percent to $781.90 an ounce, while platinum was little changed at $1,148 an ounce.