Platinum off two-week lows as dollar slips

Platinum prices rose over one percent in American trade off July 20 lows, heading for the third weekly profit in a row, as the dollar index backed off July 19 highs, following earlier employment data from the US. 

As of 01:16 GMT, platinum prices rose 1.2%% to $834.08 an ounce, moving off two-week lows, while the dollar index shed 0.08% against a basket of major rivals to 95.10. 

Earlier US data showed the unemployment rate fell to 3.9% as expected from 4.0% in June, while average hourly earnings rose 0.3% as expected, up from 0.1% in June. 

The economy added 157 thousand jobs last month, down from 248 thousand in June, and missing estimates of 191K, as the trade deficit rose to $46.3 billion from $43.2 billion in May, below estimates of $46.5 billion. 

The final reading for the Markit services PMI is expected at 56.2, same as before, while the more important ISM services PMI is estimated to dip to 58.9 from 59.1 in June.

Services PMIs are crucial as services constitute two thirds of American GDP, with the indices covering healthcare, finance, housing, retail, and many other sectors in the economy, and they usually have bearing on the Federal Reserve's policy decisions later