Gold Stalls at $4,200, Market Awaits PCE Data Surprise
Gold prices were stagnant on Friday, with spot gold trading around $4,208.46 per ounce at 03:58 GMT. Weekly, gold is still trending lower by around 0.5%, while US gold futures for December delivery edged down 0.1% to $4,237.70 per ounce. Price movements are likely to be limited as the market awaits fresh signals ahead of next week's Federal Reserve meeting.
In the bond market, the 10-year US Treasury yield held near its highest level in more than two weeks, dampening interest in gold. Meanwhile, the US dollar weakened and hovered near a five-week low, keeping gold attractive to buyers outside the US. Analyst Kunal Shah of Nirmal Bang Commodities believes the gold market is currently in a consolidation phase after a brief surge in November, but the trend ahead still has the potential to improve.
The latest US economic data is mixed. Weekly jobless claims fell to 191,000, the lowest in more than three years and well below the 220,000 forecast, while ADP data showed private sector payrolls actually fell by 32,000 jobs in November, the largest decline in more than two and a half years. Most economists surveyed expect the Fed to cut interest rates by 25 basis points at its December 9-10 meeting to support the weakening labor market. Lower interest rates typically benefit gold, a non-yielding asset.
Investors' primary focus today is the release of the September Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index, the Fed's favorite inflation indicator, scheduled for release at 15:00 GMT. In other precious metals markets, silver rose 0.5% to $57.40 an ounce and remained on track for a weekly gain after hitting a record $58.98 on Wednesday. Platinum fell 0.4% to $1,640.25 and is expected to post a weekly decline, while palladium rose 0.9% to $1,461.67 but still has the potential to end the week with mixed performance. (az)
Source: Newsmaker.id
