U.S. jobs data for further Fed indications see unchanged gold prices.
As investors refrained from placing large wagers ahead of this week’s pivotal U.S. payrolls data, which may provide additional hints regarding the Federal Reserve’s interest rate trajectory, gold prices remained unchanged on Thursday.
By 0516 GMT, spot gold remained steady at $2,025.69 an ounce.
U.S. gold futures dropped to $2,042.50, down 0.3%.
This week’s U.S. data revealed the first indications of a slowing labor market in the country, with private payrolls rising less than anticipated in October and job openings reaching a 2-1/2-year low.
Investor attention will now turn to the U.S. non-farm payrolls data on Friday in advance of the Fed’s revised interest rate and economic projections during their policy meeting on December 12–13.
According to Nicholas Frappell, global head of institutional markets at ABC Refinery, “the expectation will be for a lower non-farm number so if it comes in at expectations or higher, you might expect a bit of a sell-off in gold.”
Expectations that the U.S. interest rate peak has been reached and that rate cuts by the Fed may start early next year were heightened by recent dovish remarks made by Fed members and a series of weaker-than-expected economic data points.
According to CME’s FedWatch Tool, traders are factoring in a 60% possibility of a rate reduction by March of the next year.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to decrease interest rates sooner than anticipated, and rate reduction later in 2024 should help demand for gold investments, according to ANZ analysts in a note.
Non-interest bearing bullion is typically supported by lower interest rates.
According to Reuters market analyst Wang Tao, spot gold appears neutral in a band of $2,019 to $2,033 per ounce, and an escape could indicate a direction.
Spot silver decreased by 0.4% to $23.79 per ounce, while platinum fell by 0.3% to $887.08 and by 0.3% to $940.68 per ounce.
