Gold prices traded in a narrow range on Monday as investors looked to a key US jobs data to firm their bets on the size of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut expected this month.
Spot gold eased 0.1% at $2,499.47 per ounce, as of 0143 GMT.
US gold futures inched up 0.2% to $2,531.90.
The Fed is expected to kick off a rate-cutting cycle at its policy meeting on Sept. 17-18.
Traders currently see a 69% chance of a 25 basis points cut and a 31% chance of a 50 bps cut, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
“The lead-up to the US non-farm payrolls may put gold prices in their near-term range to start the week. Investors look towards a series of economic data to help resolve the debate between a 25 bp and a 50 bp cut for the upcoming Fed meeting,” said IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong.
Major data due this week are the ISM surveys, JOLTS job openings, ADP employment and the non-farm payrolls report.
For the payrolls report, due Friday, a Reuters poll predicts 165,000 headline jobs created in August and a dip in the unemployment rate to 4.2%.
Spot gold fell 1% in the previous session after data showed that US consumer spending increased solidly in July, arguing against a half-percentage-point rate cut.
“Nevertheless, the recent move to an all-time high continues to be well-defended for gold prices,” added Yeap. Non-yielding bullion tends to thrive in a low-interest-rate environment.
Gold price per tola increases Rs1,000 in Pakistan
Meanwhile, COMEX gold speculators raised their net long positions by 69 contracts to 236,818 in the week ended Aug. 27, data showed on Friday.
Spot silver rose 0.6% to $28.66 per ounce, platinum nearly steady at $926.50 and palladium was up 0.1% to $966.25.
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