Gold prices traded lower while the dollar was little changed ahead of the U.S. July job reports due later in the day.

Gold futures for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by $4.0, or 0.33%, to $1,216.10 a troy ounce by 1:40AM ET (05:40 GMT).

The dollar was little changed as traders await the monthly jobs report for more cues. 

The U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies, was down 0.01% to 94.99 on Friday.

According to a Reuters survey of economists, nonfarm payrolls likely rose by 190,000 jobs in July after increasing by 213,000 in June. 

"A decent jobs report should prompt a straight-forward reaction by the markets, with U.S. yields rising and the dollar gaining," said Ichikawa at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management.

The U.S. dollar received some support in the previous session from trade tensions that returned to focus this week.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross urged on Friday to inflict more pain to China unless it changes its economic system.   

“We have to create a situation where it’s more painful for them to continue their bad practices than it is to reform,” Ross said in an interview on Fox Business Network on Thursday. The U.S. will keep turning up the pressure on China for as long as the country refuses to level the economic playing field, said Ross.

“The reason for the tariffs to begin with was to try and convince the Chinese to modify their behavior. Instead they have been retaliating. So the president now feels that it’s potentially time to put more pressure on, in order to modify their behavior,” he said.  

His comment came after China accused the U.S. of “blackmailing” on Thursday and that it would never surrender to U.S. trade threats.