Gold firmed after three days of losses on Thursday on weaker global equities, but held below a 15-month peak as the dollar rebounded against the yen after a recent slump. FUNDAMENTALS * Spot gold XAU= ticked up 0.2 percent to $1,281.06 an ounce by 0059 GMT, after losing 1.1 percent in the past three sessions. US gold futures GCcv1 rose 0.7 percent to $1,283.10. * Asian shares slipped for a seventh straight session on Thursday as a mixed batch of US economic data did nothing to assuage concerns about global growth and deflation, keeping sovereign bonds well supported. Global equity markets fell for a second straight day on Wednesday. * Data on Wednesday showed that the US services sector expanded in April as new orders and employment accelerated, bolstering views that economic growth would rebound after almost stalling in the first quarter. * But the US growth outlook was dimmed by another report on Wednesday showing private employers hired the fewest number of workers in three years in April. * The dollar, which had dropped to a 15-month low early in the week, rose on Wednesday, supported by data on US trade and factory orders. * It extended those gains early on Thursday, limiting gold's rise. * The dollar had slumped to a near 19-month low versus the yen earlier in the week, boosting gold to a 15-month top of $1,303.60 on Monday. * US interest rates futures rose on Wednesday as the weaker-than-expected US private jobs growth in April caused traders to price in lower chances the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at its June policy meeting. * Gold is sensitive to interest rates and returns on other assets as rising rates lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion. * It has risen 21 percent this year as expectations faded that the Fed would push ahead with interest rate hikes. * Elsewhere, assets in SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.07 percent to 825.54 tonnes on Wednesday, their highest in over two years.