Oct 5 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged up on Thursday, getting a reprieve after declining in the previous eight consecutive sessions, as U.S. bond yields and the dollar stepped back from highs ahead of a keenly awaited non-farm payrolls report this week.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was up 0.2% to $1,823.79 per ounce by 0051 GMT, attempting a rebound from its weakest levels since March which it touched on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures rose 0.2% to $1,838.20.
* Benchmark U.S. 10-year bond yields fell from 16-year highs and the U.S. dollar was 0.1% lower.
* A broad selloff in world government bonds on Wednesday drove up U.S. 30-year Treasury yields to 5% for the first time since 2007 and German 10-year yields to 3%, which could hasten a global slowdown and hurt stocks and corporate bonds.
* Foreign exchange strategists are sticking with their forecasts for a weaker dollar despite having been wrong-footed for years in predicting a downturn in the greenback, the latest Reuters poll showed.
* The U.S. services sector slowed in September as new orders fell to a nine-month low, but the pace remained consistent with expectations for solid economic growth in the third quarter.
* U.S. private payrolls increased far less than expected in September. Markets now await the Labor Department's more comprehensive and closely watched employment report for September on Friday.
* SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.5% to 869.31 tonnes on Wednesday.
* Spot silver gained 0.5% to $21.07 per ounce, off a seven-month low hit this week.
* Platinum was up 0.1% to $867.20, having slid to its lowest in a year on Wednesday. Palladium rose 0.4% to $1,171.68, trading close to 5-year lows touched in the last session.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0830 UK All-Sector PMI Sept 1230 US International Trade Aug 1230 US Initial Jobless Clm Weekly (Reporting by Swati Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
