Gold holds steady as focus turns to US data for more Fed cues

Gold prices inched higher on Monday as investors waited for a series of U.S. economic data this week that could shed more light on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path.

Spot gold was up 0.1% at $4,083.92 per ounce, as of 0256 GMT. U.S. gold futures for December delivery eased 0.2% to $4,085.30 per ounce.

“The selling pressure on gold last Friday was probably a bit overdone, hence we are seeing a rebound in the price action today,” said KCM Trade Chief Market Analyst Tim Waterer.

“Scaled-back rate-cut expectations from the Fed for next month are effectively hampering gold from a yield point of view. Even though the shutdown has ended, there is no guarantee that markets or indeed the Fed will have full visibility over how the economy has been performing.”

Market participants are awaiting U.S. data releases this week, including the September nonfarm payrolls report on Thursday, for clues on the health of the world’s largest economy.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said on Friday it was working to update its schedule of economic data releases affected by the recently ended government shutdown.

Traders are currently pricing in a 46% probability of a quarter-point Fed rate cut next month, down from 50% in last week.

Citing worries about inflation and signs of relative stability in the labour market after two interest rate cuts this year, a growing number of Fed policymakers are signalling reticence on further easing. Non-yielding gold tends to do well in a low-interest-rate environment and during times of economic uncertainties.

Meanwhile, the dollar index held firm against its rivals, making gold less attractive for other currency holders.

SPDR Gold Trust , the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.47% to 1,044.00 metric tons on Friday from 1,048.93 tons on Thursday.

Elsewhere, spot silver rose 0.8% to $50.96 per ounce, platinum gained 0.7% to $1,552.36 and palladium climbed 1.7% to $1,408.13.