Gold steadies as investors await US payroll data for Fed policy clues
Gold prices were little changed on Thursday as investors held back from making significant bets, awaiting U.S. payroll data later in the day for insight into the Federal Reserve's policy direction.
Spot gold held steady at $3,357.96 per ounce as of 0601 GMT, while U.S. gold futures edged up 0.2% to $3,369.10.
Gold appears to be consolidating at present within the $3,320 to $3,360 range, with the market adopting a wait-and-see approach rather than taking significant positions ahead of U.S. non-farm payroll and ISM Services PMI data, OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong said.
Data released by ADP showed U.S. private payrolls dropped by 33,000 jobs in June, marking the first decline in more than two years, as economic uncertainty hampered hiring, but low layoffs continued to anchor the labor market.
The non-farm payrolls report, due on Thursday, is expected to show an addition of 110,000 jobs in June, down from 139,000 in May, according to a Reuters poll.
Meanwhile, the U.S. will impose a lower-than-promised 20% tariff on various goods from Vietnam, President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday. The Southeast Asian nation is the U.S.' tenth-largest trading partner.
"The Vietnam trade deal has likely already been priced into the market, and I think the primary concern now is the status of other deals with major economies that are still in limbo," Wong said.
The U.S. and Indian negotiators pushed to finalise a tariff-reducing deal ahead of Trump's July 9 deadline.
Trump has indicated no signs of extending the negotiation deadline despite stalled discussions with Japan, another key trade partner, but expressed optimism about a deal with India.
Non-yielding gold tends to perform well during economic uncertainty and in a low-interest-rate environment.
Spot silver edged up 0.2% to $36.66 per ounce, platinum lost 1.1% to $1,402.66 and palladium shed 1.3% to $1,140.
Source: Reuters
