Gold slides from 1-week high on profit-booking, dollar strength

Gold prices slid on Wednesday as investors booked profits after prices briefly climbed to a more than one-week high in earlier trade as a stronger dollar weighed on sentiment across the precious metals complex ahead of key US jobs data due this week.

Spot gold fell 0.7% to $4,466.19 per ounce, as of 0330 GMT.

Bullion touched a record high of $4,549.71 on December 26. US gold futures for February delivery were 0.4% lower at $4,477.30. “(Precious metals) have gone up (quickly) this week and there’s always a bit of profit-taking the dollar has also helped pressure prices,” said GoldSilver Central managing director Brian Lan.

The dollar moved in a tight range, near a more than two-week high ahead of a slew of US economic data, making greenback-priced assets more expensive for other currency holders.

Investors expect at least two rate cuts by the Fed this year, while they look to non-farm payroll data due on Friday for more clues.

The JOLTS survey and ADP private payrolls data on Wednesday may also set the tone for the market.

Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran, whose term ends later this month, said on Tuesday that aggressive US interest rate cuts are needed to keep the economy moving forward.

Non-yielding assets tend to do well in a low-interest-rate environment and during times of geopolitical or economic uncertainty.

On the geopolitical front, Caracas and Washington reached a deal to export up to $2 billion worth of Venezuelan crude to the United States, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, a move that would divert supplies from China following what Venezuelan officials call a kidnapping of former president Nicolás Maduro.

Spot silver lost 1.2% to $80.34 per ounce, down from an all-time high $83.62 on December 29.

Spot platinum dropped 2.9% to $2,373.0 per ounce, receding from a record high $2,478.50 last Monday.

It gained more than 3% earlier in the session. Palladium traded 2.5% lower at $1,777.22 per ounce.