Gold prices steadied on Thursday, with the market seemingly in consolidation mode after sharp losses seen over the previous two days.
Gold traded in a range of $2,038 to $2,051 an ounce on Thursday, after falling sharply to as low as $2,031 an ounce on Wednesday.
The year began with gold on the back foot, as the markets were pricing in stronger-than-expected US economic data. Wednesday saw the release of US figures which pointed to healthy US employment levels.
This was confirmed further by an ADP employment report on Thursday showing that 164,000 private sector jobs were added to the US economy in December, well above the consensus of 115,000, while further data showed a drop in the weekly number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits.
This latest round of figures paints a brighter picture of the health of the US economy, in turn, suggesting a higher-for-longer stance on interest rates by the Federal Reserve – an outcome that would create a headwind for gold as a non-interest-bearing asset.
It is worth pointing out that despite the weaker start to 2024, gold prices saw strong gains in 2023 overall – the yellow metal having traded at around $1,820 an ounce as recently as early October.
Looking ahead, the markets will be watching out for further macroeconomic signals on Friday with the release of monthly Euro Area inflation rate data and the monthly US Non-Farm Payrolls figures.
Frank’s experience covering the commodities markets spans 22 years, with a particular specialism in metals, carbon and energy markets. He has worked as a senior editor for S&P Global Commodity Insights (formerly Platts) and before this, at ICIS-LOR, a part of Reed Business Information (Reed Elsevier), where he covered the petrochemicals markets from 2003 to 2005.
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