Gold held a decline on Friday — but remained on track for a small weekly gain — as resilient US jobs data reinforced views that the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates next week.
Bullion traded near $3,370 an ounce, following a 0.6% loss on Thursday after a report showed applications for US unemployment benefits fell for a sixth straight week — the longest stretch of declines since 2022. The dollar and Treasury yields pushed higher, weighing on non-interest bearing gold, as swap traders slightly pared bets on Fed rate cuts. Less than two reductions are now projected this year, with the first full cut expected in October.
Investors also took in the latest episode of friction between President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, after they traded barbs over the costs of the central bank’s renovation project. Trump reiterated his view that Powell should lower interest rates but added that problems with the renovation probably weren’t reason enough to fire the central bank head.
Gold is up more than 25% this year, as uncertainty around Trump’s aggressive attempts to reshape global trade and conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East sparked a flight into havens. Still, the precious metal has been trading within a tight range over the past few months after spiking to an all-time high above $3,500 an ounce in April, with investors growing more confident about risk assets in recent weeks following progress in US trade negotiations.
Spot gold was little changed at $3,369.67 an ounce at 8:05 a.m. in Singapore, with prices up 0.6% so far this week. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was steady, following a 0.2% gain in the previous session. Silver and palladium were flat, while platinum edged higher.
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