Gold futures were trading lower in early trade on Friday, ahead of a highly awaited US jobs report as markets pinned hopes on economic recovery.

The yellow metal was down 0.66 per cent at Rs 46,390 per 10 gram in the morning trade. On the other hand, white metal silver traded 0.69 per cent lower at Rs 48,474 per 1 kg.

“Bullion counter may trade with a bearish bias. Gold may test Rs 45,900 and facing resistance near Rs 46,900 while silver may test Rs 48,000 while facing resistance near Rs 49,300,” SMC Global Securities said in a report.

Globally, gold is set for a third consecutive weekly drop. The dollar index has fallen over 1.5 per cent this week, making gold cheaper for holders of other currencies.

There are hopes factors like weakness in dollar, trade tensions and risks of a second coronavirus wave may provide some support to the yellow metal going ahead.

SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings, dipped 0.1 per cent to 1,132.21 tonnes on Thursday.

Investors now wait for the US nonfarm payrolls data for May due at 1230 GMT, which is likely to show payrolls falling by 8 million after a record 20.537 million plunge in April, as per a Reuters survey.