Gold was mildly mixed by the close on Thursday, with many investors reluctant to take their positions in the precious metal too far in either direction a day ahead of key US employment figures. Spot gold was up slightly at $1,824.40 an ounce by 4:23 pm EDT (2023 GMT) having earlier slipped to $1,815.15.
Meanwhile, Benchmark COMEX December gold futures settled down $2.60 at $1,829.10 per ounce, after falling earlier as low as $1,815.50 an ounce. Investors were reluctant to place big bets ahead of the government's August employment report, expected to show a tepid 75,000 increase in payrolls. Silver prices edged up in late trade to $41.53 an ounce from $41.47 previously. Data released on Wednesday showed a rise in Mexican silver output in June of just over 300,000 kg. Elsewhere, spot platinum rose to $1,843.85 an ounce, while spot palladium rose to $779.35 from $778.50.