Gold trades near two-week high on cooling US rate-hike bets
- Spot gold was steady at $4,175.02 per ounce
Gold prices reached a two-week high as a cooler U.S. jobs report reduced expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate hike, benefiting the non-yielding asset.
- Impact of U.S. jobs data on Fed rate hike expectations.
- JPMorgan's revised gold price forecasts for the year.
- Physical gold demand trends in key global markets.
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.