Gold Price News: Gold Loses Its Shine As US Job Numbers Rise

Gold prices eased lower on Friday to round off the week on a slightly bearish note.

Prices moved in a range of $1,995 to $2,033 an ounce on Friday, and closed the week at just under the $2,005 an ounce mark.

Through most of the week, gold had traded comfortably above $2,015 an ounce. The market showed a degree of calm through the week after prices hit an all-time high of over $2,100 an ounce on December 4^th.

US Non-Farm Payrolls figures came out on Friday showing that 199,000 jobs were added in November, exceeding market expectations of a 180,000 increase. Signs of a stronger-than-expected economy add weight to a ‘higher for longer’ scenario for interest rates, which would be bearish for gold prices, other things being equal. Nevertheless, the figure was still below the average monthly gain of 240,000 jobs seen in 2022.

The latest figures push against recent expectations that the US Fed could start to cut interest rates in the first half of 2024 and possibly as soon as March.

In the background, a further bearish factor came in the form of the US dollar, which strengthened against other major currencies in the first few days of December. A stronger dollar makes gold more expensive for buyers in other currencies, taking the edge off demand.

This coming week will see the release of German Balance of Trade figures for October on Monday, while Tuesday will see US ISM Services PMI data for November as well as the JOLTs job openings figures for October.