Oct 6 (Reuters) - Gold was steady on Friday ahead of key
U.S. jobs data later in the day, with prices curbed as the U.S.
dollar stood firm near a seven-week high.
    
    FUNDAMENTALS    
    * Spot gold        was little changed at $1,268.52 an ounce
at 0049 GMT. It shed 0.5 percent in the previous session.
    * U.S. gold futures         for December delivery were down
0.2 percent at $1,270.90 per ounce.
    * Asian stocks rose on Friday after optimism over U.S. tax
reform plans lifted Wall Street shares to new highs, while the
dollar hovered near a seven-week peak following additional
indications of solid economic growth.            
    * The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits
fell more than expected last week, but the continued impact of
Hurricanes Harvey and Irma on the data made it difficult to get
a clear picture of the labour market.             
    * Congressional Republicans moved to hasten an overhaul of
the U.S. tax code on Thursday, while Federal Reserve officials
warned in rare public remarks that President Donald Trump's tax
plan could lead to inflation and unsustainable federal debt.
            
    * The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed Randal Quarles as
the Federal Reserve's top official on regulatory matters,
filling a role critical to the Trump Administration's goal of
lightening post-financial crisis regulations.             
    * The long-term trend in annual U.S. economic growth may be
as low as 1.5 percent, San Francisco Fed President John Williams
said on Thursday, a sombre view that implies perpetually low
interest rates and a difficult hurdle for the Trump
administration's promised economic surge.             
    * The Federal Reserve will need to raise U.S. interest rates
further to keep the economy on track to full employment and the
Fed's 2-percent inflation goal, Kansas City Fed President Esther
George said on Thursday.             
    * European Central Bank policymakers last month debated the
trade-off between various options for extending its asset
buying, with some arguing that a reduction was warranted in any
scenario, accounts of their meeting showed on Thursday.
            
    * The Bank of Japan's policies are finally nearing a "true
dawn", Deputy Governor Hiroshi Nakaso said on Thursday as he
predicted a long-awaited build-up of inflation pressures in an
economy long haunted by deflation.               
     
     DATA/EVENT AHEAD (GMT)
     0600  Germany         Industrial orders         Aug 
     0645  France          Trade balance             Aug 
     1230  U.S.            Nonfarm payrolls          Sep 
     1230  U.S.            Unemployment rate         Sep 
     1400  U.S.            Wholesale sales           Aug 

 (Reporting by Apeksha Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Joseph
Radford)