Gold dipped on Thursday after stronger-than-expected private U.S. payrolls data dented expectations of another interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve in December.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold lost 0.3% to $3,971.08 per ounce by 0144 GMT.

* U.S. gold futures for December delivery lost 0.3% to $3,979.70 per ounce.

* The dollar held just below a four-month high reached in the previous session, with a recovery in appetite for riskier assets pulling it off recent peaks.

* Menawhile, benchmark U.S. 10-year yields held just below their highest in nearly a month.

* The U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates last week and Chair Jerome Powell suggested it might be the last reduction in borrowing costs for the year.

* U.S. private employment increased by 42,000 jobs last month, above Reuters' estimate of a 28,000 rise, the ADP employment report showed on Wednesday. A strong jobs market typically makes interest rate cuts less likely and can keep rates higher for longer.

* Market participants now see a 62% chance of a Fed rate cut in December, down from over 90% last week.

* A congressional impasse has resulted in what is now the longest-ever U.S. government shutdown, which has forced investors and the data-dependent Fed to rely on private sector indicators.

* Non-yielding gold tends to do well in a low-interest-rate environment and during times of economic uncertainty.

* Bullion hit a record high of $4,381.21 on October 20, but it has fallen close to 10% since.

* Major stock indexes gained on Wednesday as corporate earnings and U.S. private payrolls data were stronger than expected.

* Elsewhere, U.S. Supreme Court justices raised doubts on Wednesday over the legality of President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs in a case with implications for the global economy.

* Elsewhere, spot silver was down 0.6% at $47.77 per ounce, platinum slid 0.8% to $1,549.21 and palladium lost 0.7% at $1,408.74.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0030 Japan S&P Global Comp Op Final SA Oct 0030 Japan S&P Global SVC PMI Final SA Oct 0700 Germany Industrial Output MM Sep 0700 Germany Industrial Production YY SA Sep 0930 UK S&P GLOBAL PMI: MSC COMPOSITE - OUTPUT Oct 1200 UK BOE Bank Rate Nov

(Reporting by Ishaan Arora; Editing by Rashmi Aich)