PRECIOUS-Gold gains on lower US dollar, yields; investors eye nonfarm payroll data

(Updates prices, adds comment, reworks for mid-Asia session)

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Nonfarm payrolls data due at 0830 ET (1330 GMT)

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US dollar edges down to near two-week lows

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US 10-year Treasury bond yields fall to near one-month low

By Ishaan ?Arora

Feb 11 (Reuters) - Gold and silver prices rose ?on Wednesday as the U.S. dollar and Treasury bond yields fell after data showed December retail sales growth ?stalled, signalling a softening economy ahead of key jobs data later in ?the day.

Spot gold was 0.7% higher at $5,056.82 per ?ounce by 0648 GMT. U.S. ?gold futures for April delivery gained 1% to $5,080.90 per ounce.

Spot silver was up 2.2% at $82.44 per ?ounce, after falling more than 3% in ?the previous session. "Yields being lower are obviously supportive of gold today... After soft retail sales numbers, there's the expectation that perhaps, ?further and deeper rate cuts may ?be needed ?more imminently than previously thought," Capital.com senior market analyst Kyle Rodda said.

U.S. yields fell to near one-month lows after a raft of data suggested the ?economy may be softening, giving the U.S. Federal Reserve more room to ?cut interest rates. Lower U.S. yields reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as gold.

Investors expect at least two 25-basis-point rate cuts in 2026, with the first one expected in June.

They now await the release of ?the ?non-farm payrolls report for January, due later in the day, ?with a Reuters survey of economists showing a likely 70,000 increase in jobs ?last month after 50,000 jobs were added in December.

"Moves of more conviction from either gold or the dollar may be reserved until after the NFP release, with U.S. jobs data likely to factor into the Fed's interest rate trajectory. Any softness in the jobs data for January could help gold's rebound efforts," KCM chief analyst Tim Waterer ?said in a note.

The U.S. dollar index edged down to a near two-week low on Wednesday, making greenback-priced metals cheaper for overseas buyers.

Spot platinum rose ?1.4% to $2,116.25 per ounce, while palladium added ?1.3% to $1,730.50. (Reporting by Ishaan Arora; Editing by Sherry ?Jacob-Phillips, Ronojoy Mazumdar and Rashmi Aich)