May 7 (Reuters) - Gold prices on Friday hovered near a 2-1/2-month high, aided by a pullback in the dollar and Treasury yields as investors cautiously await U.S. non-farm payrolls data for further cues on the health of the world"s biggest economy. FUNDAMENTALS * Spot gold was steady at $1,814.33 per ounce by 0028 GMT, after hitting its highest since Feb. 16 at $1,817.90 in the previous session. * U.S. gold futures were down 0.1% at $1,814.30 per ounce. * The dollar index slipped to a one-week low against its rival, making gold less expensive for other currency holders. * Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields hovered close to a two-week low. Lower bond yields reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-interest bearing gold. * Markets await U.S. monthly jobs report scheduled for release at 08:30 a.m. EST on Friday. Economists expect 978,000 new U.S. jobs for April, according to a Reuters poll. * Data on Thursday showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell below 500,000 last week for the first since the COVID-19 pandemic started more than a year ago. * The economic outlook is brightening but more improvements are needed before the Federal Reserve will start to scale back monetary support, Cleveland Fed Bank President Loretta Mester said on Thursday. * Palladium eased 0.1% to $2,942.82 per ounce, moving further away from an all-time high of $3,017.18 hit earlier this week. * Silver edged 0.1% lower to $27.26 per ounce, while platinum was steady at $1,252.41. DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0145 China Caixin Services PMI April 0600 Germany Industrial Output MM March 0645 France Reserve Assets Total April 1230 US Non-Farm Payrolls April 1230 US Unemployment Rate April N/A China Exports, Imports YY April N/A China Trade Balance April (Reporting by Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.