$4,475.75: Gold prices steady ahead of US payroll report
Gold settled at $4,475.75 per ounce as traders awaited Friday's US nonfarm payrolls data to gauge Federal Reserve interest rate moves.
Spot gold closed the week at $4,475.75 per ounce on Friday after rising 2% the previous day. Prices remained flat ahead of highly anticipated US nonfarm payrolls data due later in the afternoon. The report measures weekly unemployment claims to assess labor market strength. High interest rates typically depress gold prices since the metal does not generate yield. Traders are estimating a roughly 50 percent probability that the Federal Reserve will raise rates next month, based on current signals regarding inflation pressure. Governor Christopher Waller indicated he would support holding rates steady if data confirms cooling inflation trends. Consequently, expectations for September rate hikes were being adjusted downward before Friday's release. While gold held its ground, December futures dipped 0.4% to $4,522.60. Other precious metals also moved lower: silver fell 0.1% to $66.88, platinum dropped 0.3%, and palladium declined 0.4%. Meanwhile, Impala Platinum announced its annual profit increased more than 31-fold due to higher demand for platinum group metals.
