Dollar Firms, Gold Slips On US Inflation Data

(CTN News) – On Monday, gold prices fell as expectations of an early rate cut in the U.S. faded, which helped keep the dollar and bond yields supported ahead of this week’s key inflation print, which is due later this week.

According to the latest spot gold price, which was at $2,037.39 per ounce at 0342 GMT, gold was down 0.4%. As of 0342 GMT, gold futures were trading at $2,043.60 per ounce, down 0.3% from the previous day.

It was a quiet trading day in Asia with the Japanese market closed for the day due to a holiday.

“I think we are seeing some follow through from the strong jobs data that was released earlier in the week. As a result of the cooling off of expectations for rate cuts this year, everything is tied back to the cooling down of expectations,” said Kyle Rodda, a financial market analyst at Capital.com.

There was a 0.1% increase in the dollar index after reaching its highest level since July 2023 on Friday, which is causing bullion to become more expensive for other currency holders, as the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields remained above 4%.

In December, the number of jobs created by U.S. employers surpassed expectations, according to official figures, but separate data from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) indicate that the number of jobs created in the services sector slowed considerably.

It is estimated that market participants will price in a 64% chance that the U.S. central bank will cut rates in March, down from a 90% probability seen before the New Year, which was reflected in the CME FedWatch tool.

Rodda said, however, that things still look positive in the near term, but that there might be a little bit more left in the retracement in gold prices, since it has done so much in the past.

As per Reuters, technical analyst Wang Tao predicts spot gold prices will drop to between $2,028 and $2,035 per ounce over the next few months.

Currently, investors are awaiting Thursday’s report on U.S. consumer inflation for a clearer picture of how quickly and how much further rate cuts will be made by the Federal Reserve.

Silver prices dropped 0.6% to $23.01 per ounce and platinum prices dropped 0.6% to $954.77 per ounce. Prices of palladium fell by 0.7% to $1,020.25, marking the tenth session in which they have fallen.

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