Gold strengthens in early trade

10 Jul 2023 , 11:37 AM

After U.S. jobs statistics last week raised questions about the health of the labour market and made investors more pessimistic about the Federal Reserve’s rate hike trajectory, gold prices started to creep up early on Monday in Asia.

Spot gold was up 0.1%, trading at $1,925.49 an ounce. The price of American gold futures fell by 0.1% to $1,931.00 per ounce.

In June, the U.S. economy added the fewest jobs in 2-1/2 years, while fewer jobs were created in April and May. This data, released on Friday by the Labour Department, indicated that higher borrowing costs were beginning to reduce businesses’ desire to continue hiring new employees.

Gold, which doesn’t pay interest, loses some of its attraction as interest rates rise.

As her four-day journey to Beijing came to an end, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen praised recent ‘direct’ and ‘productive’ conversations with senior Chinese officials for fostering a more stable relationship between the two nations.

Investors are looking at beaten-down industries that might gain ground regardless of whether the U.S. economy enters a recession this year as second-quarter earnings get closer.

According to a Monday Invesco study of central banks and sovereign wealth funds, more nations are returning their gold holdings as insurance against the kind of sanctions the West has imposed on Russia.

The largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund in the world, SPDR Gold Trust, reported that its holdings decreased 0.3% on Friday. 

Information released on Friday revealed COMEX gold investors increased their net long position by 12,733 contracts to 99,205 for the week ending July 3.

Spot silver increased by 0.1% to $23.09, platinum increased by 0.4% to $911.40, and palladium increased by 0.2% to $1,246.86 in other precious metals.

For feedback and suggestions, write to us at [e-mail]