Gold pauses before the US payrolls report following a nine-session losing streak

6 Oct 2023 , 10:59 AM

After falling for nine straight sessions, gold stopped near a seven-month low on Friday as investors awaited U.S. nonfarm payrolls data that might determine if interest rates will be increased once again.

Spot gold was unchanged at $1,820.35 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures increased by 0.1% to $1,834.10. Since September 25, prices have closed lower every day of trading, adding 1.5% further losses this week.

The demand for non-yielding and dollar-priced gold has decreased as benchmark U.S. 10-year bond yields remained close to 16-year highs and the U.S. dollar has maintained its upward trend for 12 straight weeks.

On Thursday, Federal Reserve officials expressed little fear that the recent increase in U.S. Treasury yields may jeopardize a ‘soft landing’ for the economy and suggested that it might even benefit the institution in its fight against inflation.

According to data released on Thursday, while layoffs decreased in September, the number of Americans submitting new claims for unemployment benefits increased somewhat the previous week.

In August, the U.S. trade deficit decreased to its lowest level in almost three years, with record-high capital goods exports.

The largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund in the world, SPDR Gold Trust, reported that on Thursday, its holdings dropped 0.2% to 867.58 metric tons, the lowest level since August 2019.

After hitting 5-year lows in the previous session, spot silver increased by 0.3% to $20.96, platinum increased by 0.2% to $856.30, and palladium increased by 0.6% to $1,148. All were projected to lose money each week.

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