Gold Price steadies in the spot markets, yet the futures reached a record high of $3,534 on reports that the United States (US) will apply tariffs on imports of Gold bars. Besides this, market players continued to digest US economic data revealed during the week as traders brace for the release of inflation figures next week. The XAU/USD trades at $3,397, virtually unchanged.

During the overnight session, the price spread between New York Comex futures and spot prices widened by more than $100, as revealed by Reuters after the Financial Times reported on Thursday that the US imposed tariffs on one-kilo Gold bars, citing a letter from US Customs & Border Protection.

Despite this, XAU/USD spot prices continued to consolidate at around the $3,400 figure, as investors seem convinced that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will slash rates by 25 basis points (bps) at the September meeting.

Last week's dismal Nonfarm Payrolls report sounded the alarms amongst Fed officials, who had previously struck a more hawkish tone but now are shifting to a more balanced one. Additionally, a slowdown of business activity in the services sector, as revealed by the ISM Services PMI, along with a contraction in the employment sub-component, suggests that there are some cracks in the labor market.

However, Fed doves are not out of the woods yet. The Prices Paid sub-component of the Services PMI rose to its highest level since November 2022. This and next week's release of inflation figures on the consumer and producer sides will dictate whether the Fed remains more worried about inflation or shifts to achieve the maximum employment mandate.

Next week's economic docket will also feature further Fed speakers, Initial Jobless Claims data, Retail Sales and the University of Michigan (UoM) Consumer Sentiment.

Source: Fxstreet