Gold was steady after rising almost 2% in the previous session, as traders weighed an uncertain US economic outlook that's been compounded by an absence of reliable data.

Bullion was trading just below $4,200 an ounce on Thursday, consolidating four days of gains — the longest winning streak in a month. While US lawmakers are expected to end the longest government shutdown in history, the White House has warned that official jobs and inflation reports for October are unlikely to be released.

The data void throughout the shutdown has caused investors to fly blind or rely on private statistics for a temperature check on the world's largest economy. Gold has gained nearly 5% this week, partly in expectation of further interest-rate cuts after Washington returns to work — a positive for the metal, which doesn't pay interest.

But policymakers are divided on the need for further reductions to the cost of borrowing. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic and Bank of Boston President Susan Collins both said they favored keeping interest rates steady to cool inflation.

Gold edged down 0.1% to $4,192.82 an ounce as of 7:56 a.m. Singapore time. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was flat. Silver held steady near a record, platinum nudged lower and palladium was largely unchanged.

Source: Bloomberg