Gold Slips as Higher Yields Weigh; Focus Turns to US Payrolls
Gold prices dipped on Thursday as U.S. Treasury yields firmed after the release of weekly jobless claims data, while markets awaited U.S. non-farm payrolls figures for fresh insights into the Federal Reserve's stance on interest rate cuts.
Spot gold was down 0.7% at $2,630.30 per ounce, as of 02:03 p.m. ET (1903 GMT). U.S. gold futures settled 1% lower at $2,648.40.
"We're in a period of stagnation, some range bound activity at the moment, searching for that next piece of data or that next stimuli that could push gold out of this range," said David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures.
Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields edged up 0.3%, while bitcoin catapulted above $100,000 for the first time on Thursday.
The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits increased moderately last week, suggesting the labour market continued to steadily cool.
Investors' focus now shifts to Friday's U.S. nonfarm payrolls, which is likely to increase by 200,000 jobs in the month after rising by only 12,000 in October, for further clarity on the interest rate path.
A robust NFP number is more or less priced in and if we see weakness in the report, it could add some support to gold prices, said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday the U.S. economy is stronger than expected and suggested a more cautious stance towards interest rate cuts.
Traders are pricing in a 70% chance of a 25-basis-point cut at the Fed's Dec. 17-18 meeting. Bullion, which offers no yield, tends to perform well in low-interest-rate environments.
Spot silver was down 0.5% at $31.12 per ounce, platinum fell 0.4% to $936.95 and palladium lost 1.4% to $964.40.
Source : Reuters
