Gold firmed near a one-month high on Thursday as the odds of another U.S. interest rate hike were trimmed by data earlier this week pointing to a slowing labor market, while traders keep their eyes peeled for the upcoming inflation reading.

Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,946.60 per ounce by 1216 GMT, close to its Aug. 2 high of $1,948.79 hit on Wednesday.

U.S. gold futures were up 0.1% to $1,973.80.

The U.S. economy grew at a slightly less brisk pace than anticipated in the second quarter, with the rise in private payrolls halving in August from July and job openings hitting a 2-1/2-year low last month.

The weaker-than-expected data "has brought forward the market's belief that we will see peak rates probably sooner than what the Fed would like us to believe," said Ole Hansen, Saxo Bank's head of commodity strategy.

The U.S. dollar eyed its first monthly rise in three and benchmark 10-year Treasury yields were poised for their fourth straight monthly climb, keeping dollar-priced gold on track to fall 1% in August.

But non-interest-paying bullion pared its losses in the second half of the month as quickly as it amassed them in the first, aided by a recent pullback in U.S. bond yields from 2007 highs.

Prices sat below a key resistance level of $1,950, "the next battleground," Hansen said, adding that any softness in the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, preferred by the Fed to gauge inflation, would support a move higher for gold.

Silver eased 0.3% to $24.59 per ounce, having climbed to a more than one-month high on Wednesday.

Platinum rose 0.5% to $978.58 as it heads for its second consecutive monthly gain. Palladium climbed 0.7% to $1,230.81, but was set for a 4% monthly fall.