Gold edges higher ahead of US payrolls data, set for weekly gain
Aug 2 (Reuters) -Gold prices inched higher on Friday and were set for a weekly gain, driven by prospects of a Fed rate cut in September and rising tensions in the Middle East, while market participants awaited U.S. nonfarm payrolls data for further direction.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold XAU= rose 0.2% to $2,450.09 per ounce by 0046 GMT and was up more than 2% for the week. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 climbed 0.6% to $2,494.40.
* Investors will keep a tab on the US payrolls report due at 1230 GMT for further cues on the U.S. monetary policy path.
* Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday interest rates could be cut as soon as September if the U.S. economy follows its expected path.
* Bullion is considered as a hedge against geopolitical and economic risks. Lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding bullion.
* On the geopolitical front, the head of Hamas' military wing, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza last month, the Israeli military said on Thursday, a day after the group's political leader was assassinated in Tehran.
* Data on Thursday showed that the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits increased to an 11-month high last week, suggesting some softening in the labour market, though claims tend to be volatile around this time of the year.
* Spot silver XAG= fell 0.3% to $28.47 per ounce, platinum XPT= steadied at $959.05 and palladium XPD= edged 0.8% lower to $897.70.
* Manufacturers across the United States, Europe and Asia turned in a weak performance last month as factories grappled with tepid demand, surveys showed, raising the risk of an underpowered global economic recovery.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
1230 US Non-Farm Payrolls July
1230 US Unemployment Rate July
1230 US Average Earnings YY July
1400 US Factory Orders MM June
Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
