Gold trades near two-week high on cooling US rate-hike bets

Gold prices held near a two-week high on Monday after a cooler-than-expected US jobs report last week slightly tempered expectations of interest rate hikes by ​the Federal Reserve.

Spot gold was steady at $4,175.02 per ounce by 0028 ‌GMT, after posting a weekly gain of more than 2% following four straight weeks of declines on Friday.

US gold futures for August delivery climbed 1.5% to $4,186.80 per ounce.

Data on ​Thursday showed U.S. job growth slowed sharply in June and payroll gains for ​the prior two months were revised lower, pointing to a cooling ⁠labor market and prompting financial markets to dial back expectations for a near-term ​Fed rate hike.

Traders now see about a 55% chance of a rate increase ​in September, down from more than 60% before the data, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Lower interest rates tend to be favorable to gold, as it is a non-yielding asset.

The release of the minutes from the Fed’s June 16-17 meeting, Kevin Warsh’s ​first as Fed chair, on Wednesday will be in focus for investors later this week.

JPMorgan said demand ‌for ⁠gold from key sectors would not be as strong as it had expected, limiting the rise in gold prices this year to $4,300/oz in the third quarter and $4,500/oz in the fourth quarter.

Physical gold demand in India eased on Friday after a modest ​pick-up earlier in the ​week, as prices ⁠rebounded from a three-month low, while buying interest in China improved slightly.

Elsewhere, spot silver extended gains to a fifth session, ​up 0.1% at $62.4773 per ounce and earlier hitting its highest ​since June ⁠23.

Spot platinum added 0.4% to $1,645.05 per ounce and palladium was up 0.1% to $1,275.18 per ounce. Both these metals were on track for their fourth straight daily gain.