Gold Prices Poised for Weekly Gains Amid U.S. Jobs Data Focus

Gold prices hovered near a four-week high on Friday, setting the stage for their strongest weekly performance since mid-November. Investors are awaiting key U.S. jobs data to assess how aggressively the Federal Reserve might cut interest rates this year.

Market Highlights
- Spot gold rose 0.1% to $2,672.64 per ounce as of 3:09 GMT, with bullion up more than 1% for the week.
- U.S. gold futures advanced 0.2% to $2,696.30.

Attention now turns to the U.S. non-farm payrolls report, expected to show a gain of 160,000 jobs in December following November's 227,000 increase, according to a Reuters survey.

Expert Insights
Jigar Trivedi, senior analyst at Reliance Securities, noted, “We expect gold to drop a little if the Non-farm Payroll report comes on a higher side. Reports suggest that President-elect Trump may announce an economic emergency to roll out tariffs smoothly. All these factors could strengthen the dollar, which might weigh on gold in the near term.” Trivedi added that $2,650 per ounce is a strong support level for gold.

Safe-Haven Demand and Rate Concerns
Gold rallied to a near-monthly high in the prior session, buoyed by safe-haven demand as investors assessed the potential economic impact of Trump’s policies. His return to office on January 20 brings expectations of inflationary pressure from proposed tariffs and protectionist measures.

Meanwhile, Kansas City Federal Reserve President Jeff Schmid expressed reluctance to cut interest rates further, citing a resilient economy and inflation still above the Fed’s 2% target.

Higher interest rates typically diminish gold’s appeal as a non-yielding asset, even though the metal is widely used as a hedge against inflation.

Other Precious Metals
- Silver rose 0.4% to $30.24 per ounce.
- Platinum dipped 0.1% to $957.43.
- Palladium gained 1.4%, climbing to $939.13.
​All three metals are on track for weekly gains, reflecting broader demand across the precious metals sector.