Gold prices on Thursday drifted further away from seven-week highs hit earlier this week, as the dollar firmed on expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve could trim its bond holdings in September.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold had fallen 0.3 percent to $1,262.40 per ounce by 0033 GMT.

* U.S. gold futures for December delivery dropped 0.8 percent to $1,268.70 per ounce.

* U.S. private employers added 178,000 jobs in July, below economists' expectations, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday.

* U.S. President Donald Trump grudgingly signed into law new sanctions against Russia on Wednesday, a move Moscow said amounted to a full-scale trade war and an end to hopes for better ties with the Trump administration.

* The Bank of England looks set to keep interest rates at a record low once again on Thursday with investors looking for signs that, faced with Brexit, it is getting nearer to raising rates for the first time in a decade.

For Nifty Future Tips>> click here>> http://www.ripplesadvisory.com/services.php.