(Reuters) – Gold held firm on Friday as financial markets awaited U.S. nonfarm payrolls data to shed more light on the state of the country’s economy following a batch of weak economic indicators that boosted expectations of more Fed stimulus measures.

Spot gold was little changed at $1,718 per ounce, as of 0855 GMT, having hit its highest since April 27 at $1,721.76 in the previous session. Bullion has risen more than 1% so far this week.

U.S. gold futures rose 0.3% to $1,731.00.

“Gold market is steady ahead of nonfarm payroll report today. Overall, initial jobless claims data and the ADP employment numbers disappointed the market and gold prices spiked,” said Jigar Trivedi, commodities analyst at Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers in Mumbai.

“Also, there are expectations of negative interest rates from the U.S. Federal Reserve and another round of stimulus measures supporting gold prices.”

Gold jumped as much as 2.1% in the last session after poor economic readings out of the United States intensified fears over global economic growth amid tensions between China and U.S. over the coronavirus crisis.

Millions more Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, with the total number of people who have filed claims since March 21 rising to about 33.5 million.

Focus now shifts to U.S. nonfarm payrolls data, due at 1230 GMT, which is expected to show that the U.S. economy is likely to have lost 22 million jobs in April and that the unemployment rate jumped to 16% as people stayed home to thwart the spread of the coronavirus.

Federal funds futures priced in negative U.S. interest rates for the first time on Thursday, while the Bank of England kept the door open for more stimulus next month.

Lower U.S. interest rates put pressure on the dollar and bond yields, increasing the appeal of non-yielding bullion.

The dollar index fell 0.2%, while the U.S. Treasury yields slipped from three-week highs, with the two-year yields dropping to record lows.

“Gold seems like it is ready to run higher as disastrous economic data will likely only lead to further global monetary easing,” Edward Moya, a senior market analyst at broker OANDA, said in a note.

Central banks around the world have cut interest rates, unveiled unprecedented amounts of stimulus to limit economic damage caused by the coronavirus, which has infected more than 3.86 million people globally.

Palladium climbed 2.6% to $1,903.31 and platinum gained 0.8% to $769.74, silver was flat at $15.50, having hit a three-week peak.