2023-07-10 01:29:44
The price of gold edged higher in early Asia on Monday after last week’s US jobs data cast doubts on the strength of the labor market, prompting investors to be more skeptical about the Federal Reserve’s path to raising interest rates.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was up 0.1% at $1,925.49 an ounce at 0104 GMT. US gold futures were down 0.1% at $1,931.00 an ounce.
* The widely watched Department of Labor jobs report showed the US economy added the fewest jobs in 2.5 years in June, while fewer jobs were added in April and May, indicating that higher borrowing costs are starting to dampen companies’ appetite to continue to increase their workforce.
* Rising interest rates also reduce the attractiveness of gold, which does not earn interest.
* US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said meetings with senior Chinese officials in recent days had been “direct” and “productive”, helping to stabilize the often difficult relationship between the two superpowers at the end of her term four-day trip to Beijing.
* As second-quarter earnings loom, investors are eyeing flagging sectors that could gain traction whether or not the U.S. economy enters a recession this year.
* A growing number of countries are repatriating their gold reserves to protect themselves from Western sanctions on Russia, according to an Invesco survey of central banks and sovereign wealth funds released on Monday.
* SPDR Gold Trust, the largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.3% on Friday.
* Friday’s data showed COMEX gold speculators increased their net long position from 12,733 contracts to 99,205 in the week ending July 3.
* In other precious metals, spot silver gained 0.1% to $23.09, platinum added 0.4% to $911.40 and palladium climbed 0.2% to $1,246 $.86. (Reporting by Swati Verma; Writing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
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