Gold prices fell on Friday as the dollar rebounded and investors looked ahead to more data on U.S. inflation.

Gold futures for August delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 0.33% to 1,219.28 a troy ounce.

Overnight, gold prices pared losses on Thursday, as downbeat initial jobless claims and private sector payrolls data curbed investor expectations about the pace of rate hikes this year.

Gold bounced off session lows, after both the dollar and U.S. 10-Year eased, following the release of weaker-than-expected initial jobless claims and private sector payrolls data, suggesting a possible slowdown in labor market activity.

The ADP National Employment Report showed private sector payrolls increased by 158,000 jobs last month, lower than the 230,000 positions created in May and below economists' expectations for a gain of 185,000.

In a separate report, the Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 4,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 248,000 for the week ended July 1. It was the third straight weekly increase in claims.

Meanwhile, data showing an improvement in non-manufacturing economic activity for June, which rose to 57.4, failed to dent investor sentiment on gold.

The release of mixed economic data came a day after the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s June 13-14 revealed that fed policymakers were split on the outlook for inflation and how it might affect the future pace of interest rate rises.

In a rising interest rate environment, investor appetite for gold weakens as the opportunity cost of holding the precious metal increases relative to other interest-bearing assets such as bonds.