By Gina Lee

Investing.com – Gold was down on Friday morning in Asia, widening its weekly losses. The weakening of peace talks between Russia, Ukraine and other countries led to a stronger demand for safe-haven assets. Investors are awaiting the U.S. Jobs Report in order to get clues about the future direction of U.S. monetary policy.

The dollar fell 0.3% to $1.937 at 1:03 AM ET (5:00 AM GMT), and it has fallen about 1.1% over the past week. From a near one-month high on Friday, the dollar moved higher than usual.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the Russian government would suspend supplies to Europe of a third its gas, unless payments are made in Russian roubles. This is his strongest economic comeback to date to the Western sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

In Asia Pacific,   was 48.1 in March 2022. Japan’s at 14, and the Index at 9, for the first quarter of 2022.

Down Under in Australia, March’s was at 55.7 and the at 57.7.

The latest U.S. jobs report (including non-farm payrolls) is due to be released later today. Investors are now awaiting this. The figures could also provide a clue to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s future monetary policy.

As of March, the Russian foreign currency and gold reserves had fallen to $604.4 billion. According to the data of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, Bank of Russia (Bank of Russia), this is their lowest level since August 2021. It is down from $643.2 million before the invasion.

Silver edged up 0.2% in other precious metals. Although platinum rose 0.1% while palladium rose 0.9% in the other precious metals, they are both on course for another weekly loss.