Gold and silver prices declined on Thursday after stronger-than-expected US jobs data reduced hopes for imminent interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Spot gold fell 0.3% to $5,062.83 per ounce, while US gold futures for April delivery dropped 0.3% to $5,084.30. Silver also retreated, with spot silver down 0.6% at $83.52 per ounce, following a 4% gain the previous day.
The US economy added 130,000 jobs in January, well above the 70,000 forecast by economists polled by Reuters. The unemployment rate fell to 4.3%. This robust data suggests the Federal Reserve may keep interest rates higher for longer, making non-yielding assets like gold less attractive.
Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said: “Gold eased back from above $5,100 and silver from above $86 after stronger-than-expected US jobs data tempered expectations of imminent Fed rate cuts, lifting the dollar.” He added that the Lunar New Year holiday in China could further dampen risk appetite and liquidity.
Investors are now awaiting the weekly US jobless claims report and crucial inflation data due on Friday. Zain Vawda, an analyst at MarketPulseby OANDA, noted: “I think the CPI print on Friday will be key. If we get a softer CPI print coupled with the jobs report data, that could keep gold from advancing much further and could see gold make a foray back below the $5,000 per ounce mark.”
In other precious metals, spot platinum shed 1.3% to $2,104.90 per ounce, while palladium rose 0.7% to $1,711.12.
