Gold Price News: Gold Bounces Back After Falling Below $2,640 an Ounce

Gold prices rose on Tuesday to recoup Monday’s losses, as the markets digested a mixed set of economic data from the US, while Middle East tensions continued to simmer.

Prices rose as high as $2,672 an ounce, compared with $2,636 an ounce in late trades on Monday.

US ISM manufacturing figures came out on Tuesday showing a slightly weaker reading than the market had expected for September, playing into calls for further interest rate cuts.

However, US JOLTS job openings numbers for August painted a better-than-expected picture on the US employment front, somewhat contradicting other signs of a weaker economy.

Gold’s volatility at the start of the week comes in the context of an all-time high of $2,686 an ounce on Thursday last week.

Yields on 10-year US treasuries fell on Tuesday, contributing to gold’s strength, although the yellow metal seemed unaffected by the US dollar, which strengthened against other major currencies.

Geopolitical factors continue to support gold, after Israel launched a military ground operation against militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon, while Iran launched missiles towards Israel on Tuesday in response. As ever, gold’s status as a safe haven asset means it can take support from increased tensions, and in particular in view of the risk that hostilities could spread further.

Looking ahead, Wednesday will see a flurry of speeches by US Fed officials, which will be closely watched for any signals on upcoming interest rate decisions, while Thursday will see the weekly US initial jobless claims figures, for the latest update on America’s unemployment situation.