PRECIOUS-Gold steady ahead of US jobs data

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US non-farm payrolls report due at 1330 GMT

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UBS raises 2026 mid-year gold target price by $300 to $4,500/oz

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Many Fed policymakers at last meeting were opposed to December rate cut

(Updates for EMEA mid-trading session)

By Noel John

Nov 20 (Reuters) -

Gold prices held steady on Wednesday as investors awaited a crucial U.S. jobs report, which could shed light on a Federal Reserve rate cut in December.

Spot gold were steady at $4,074.09 per ounce at 1240 GMT, recovering some of its earlier 1% fall. U.S. gold futures for December delivery fell 0.2% to $4,073.70 per ounce.

"All eyes will be on the release of the delayed NFP data later today," ActivTrades analyst Ricardo Evangelista said.

"We have already seen signs of a slowing labour market, and if the September figures confirm this, expectations of a December Fed rate cut are likely to rise - a dynamic that could weaken the US dollar and revive support for gold."

Traders are now focused on the September jobs report due at 1330 GMT, delayed due to the government shutdown, for clues on the Fed's next move. September nonfarm payrolls likely increased by 50,000 jobs, more than double August's 22,000 gain, a Reuters survey showed.

The Fed will still lack much of the data at its policy meeting on December 10, as the next jobs report has been delayed until December 16.

Traders now see nearly a 34% chance for a rate cut next month, down from 49% on Wednesday, CME Group's FedWatch tool showed.

Non-yielding gold tends to do well in a low-interest-rate environment and during times of economic uncertainty.

Minutes from the Fed's October meeting, released on Wednesday, showed it cut interest rates even as policymakers cautioned that doing so could risk entrenched inflation and a loss of public trust in the U.S. central bank.

UBS raised its 2026 mid-year gold target price by $300 to $4,500 per ounce, on expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts, persistent geopolitical risks, and strong central bank and ETF demand.

Spot silver fell 0.6% to $51.07 per ounce, platinum was down 0.1% at $1,545.25 and palladium rose 1.6% to $1,401.93. (Reporting by Noel John in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Louise Heavens)