Gold held near a record as traders looked ahead to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech Friday, which will come after a downward revision of US payrolls bolstered expectations the central bank will cut interest rates in September.
Bullion has been trading in a relatively narrow range this week near Tuesday’s all-time high and remained above $2,500 an ounce in early trading Thursday. Figures released Wednesday showed US job growth was probably far less robust in the year through March than previously reported.
The report will keep pressure on the Fed to cut rates next month — a scenario that could boost gold as it tends to benefit from lower borrowing costs.
US jobless claims figures due Thursday may shed further light on the Fed’s rate-cut path, along with Powell’s comments at Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Gold has rallied more than 20% this year. Along with rate-cut expectations, it’s been supported by robust purchases by central banks, increased haven demand and healthy buying of physical bars in the over-the-counter market
Spot gold dipped 0.4% to $2,503.29 as of 9:22 a.m. in London. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was flat, keeping at a decline for the week so far. Silver and platinum were down while palladium rose 0.5%.
Source : Bloomberg
