COMEX gold is recovering in early Asian trades on Friday following a near 3% slide in the previous session. The counter is currently up 1% at $4994 an ounce. Stronger-than-expected US January employment data firmed expectations that there won’t be a Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cut soon which in turn, reduced the appeal of the yellow metal. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 130,000 jobs in January, following a downwardly revised 48,000 increase in December, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Wednesday. The Unemployment Rate edged down to 4.3% in January from 4.4% in December. Meanwhile, investors now look forward to US inflation figures that could provide better clarity on Fed move.