Spot Gold gained on Friday, as US private-sector jobs data indicated labor market weakness and added to expectations of another interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
Private payrolls in the US rose by 42,000 in October, following 29,000 jobs cut in September. US employers shed jobs in professional business services (-15,000), information (-17,000) and leisure and hospitality (-6,000) for a third consecutive month in October, ADP data showed.
“The private jobs data is still indicating that a rate cut in December is likely and that’s why gold prices are getting some kind of support,” Soni Kumari, commodity strategist at ANZ, was quoted as saying by Reuters.
The Federal Reserve lowered its federal funds rate target range by 25 basis points to 3.75%-4.00% at its October meeting. This way, borrowing costs were brought to their lowest level since 2022.
Markets are now pricing in about a 67% chance of a 25 basis point Fed rate cut in December, compared to a 63% chance a week earlier.
The ongoing US government shutdown has delayed the release of essential macro data, which complicated assessments of the US economy’s state, as investors had to rely on secondary, non-government data prints.
The US Dollar Index held close to a 1-week low.
Spot Gold was last up 0.74% on the day to trade at $4,006.59 per troy ounce.
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