Gold steady; all eyes on US jobs data, Fed Chair’s speech

GOLD prices steadied on Wednesday (Dec 4) as markets awaited US jobs data and comments from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell for further insights into the US interest rate cut trajectory.

Spot gold held its ground at US$2,644.42 per ounce, as at 0203 GMT.

US gold futures eased 0.1 per cent to US$2,666.40.

The US ADP employment report is due at 1315 GMT, ahead of the US payrolls report on Friday. Powell is scheduled to speak later in the day in what is expected to be his last public remarks before the Fed’s December meeting.

The primary factor behind gold’s lacklustre movement is that markets anticipated a much shallower US rate cut cycle for 2025, said Kelvin Wong, Oanda’s senior market analyst for Asia Pacific.

However, the longer-term bullish trend for gold remains intact amid rising trade tensions and potential strain on US budget deficits, he added.

US central bankers signalled support for further cuts, but none pushed strongly for or against doing so at their next meeting in two weeks. Officials have been wary of giving too much guidance about how policy will likely evolve, particularly since President-elect Donald Trump’s re-election last month.

According to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, traders see about 73 per cent chance of a 25-basis-points reduction by the Fed this month, with 80 bps of cuts expected by the end of 2025.

Meanwhile, data on Tuesday showed that US job openings increased moderately in October while layoffs declined. A strong jobs report could lead the Fed to take a cautious stance on cutting rates.

Non-yielding bullion thrives in low interest rate environment.

According to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao, spot gold may test support at US$2,621 per ounce, a break below could open the way towards the US$2,594 to US$2,608 range.

Spot silver rose 0.1 per cent to US$31.06 per ounce, platinum dropped 0.2 per cent to US$951.90 and palladium shed 0.3 per cent to US$968.89. REUTERS