Gold prices hit a near four-week high on Wednesday after a weaker-than-expected private employment report for December provided reassurance for some in the market the U.S. Federal Reserve may be less cautious about easing rates this year.
Spot gold rose 0.3% to $2,657.38 per ounce, as of 02:15 p.m. ET (1915 GMT) and hit its highest since Dec. 13. U.S. gold futures settled 0.3% higher at $2,672.40.
Weaker private payrolls "is contributing to gold's move, because ultimately, weaker employment numbers imply that the economy has been weaker than many had expected," said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategies at TD Securities.
The ADP National Employment report showed the U.S. economy added 122,000 jobs in the private sector last month, compared with economists' estimate of a rise of 140,000.
A separate Labor Department report showed jobless claims stood at 201,000 in the previous week, lower than estimates of 218,000.
"The bigger factor will be U.S. nonfarm payrolls on Friday, the market is expecting a change of 163 (thousand); anything significantly above that will be negative for gold," Melek said.
Traders are on edge ahead of Friday's key U.S. labor data, due at 08:30 a.m. ET, and Donald Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration, with expectations of a flurry of policy moves marking the start of his second presidency.
Minutes from the Federal Reserve's Dec. 17-18 meeting revealed officials expect inflation to ease this year but acknowledged the risk of stubborn price pressures, particularly as they assess the potential impact of Trump's policies.
Trump's proposed tariffs could stoke U.S. inflation, complicating the Fed's ability to cut rates and potentially weighing on gold prices.
However, Fed governor Christopher Waller said inflation should continue to fall in 2025 and allow the central bank to further reduce interest rates, though at an uncertain pace.
Bullion is considered an inflationary hedge, but high rates reduce the non-yielding asset's allure.
Spot silver added 0.1% to $30.03 per ounce, platinum gained 0.2% to $952.76, palladium lost 0.1% to $925.05.
Source : Reuters
Gold prices briefly caused a stir after hitting a new record, but then slowed. The main trigger: US President Donald Trump withheld the threat of tariffs on Europe and claimed there was a "framework" ...
Gold prices hit another record high, while silver held near its all-time high. This rise was driven by two major factors: the escalating Greenland crisis and turmoil in the Japanese government debt ma...
Gold prices remained near all-time highs on Tuesday, hovering around $4,670 per ounce. Demand for safe haven assets remained strong as US-European trade tensions escalated, prompting investors to refr...
Gold and silver hit new records after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on eight European countries that oppose his Greenland plan. This situation immediately pushed investors int...
Gold price rises on Friday, poised to end with weekly gains of nearly 4% as an employment report in the US was mixed, with the economy adding fewer jobs than projected. Still, the Unemployment Rate ti...
Gold prices briefly caused a stir after hitting a new record, but then slowed. The main trigger: US President Donald Trump withheld the threat of tariffs on Europe and claimed there was a "framework" for a future agreement on Greenland. This calmer...
Oil prices were little changed in Asian trading on Thursday after US President Donald Trump backed down from a threat to impose tariffs on European countries over Greenland. This decision helped ease geopolitical tensions and improve market...
The Nikkei 225 Index climbed 1.73% to close at 53,689, while the broader Topix Index rose 0.74% to 3,616 on Thursday, snapping a five-day losing streak as Japanese shares were lifted by a strong rally in chip and artificial intelligence related...