Gold prices stabilized after rising by about 2% in the previous session, as traders assessed uncertain US economic prospects, which were made more ambiguous by the lack of reliable official data.
The precious metal traded just below $4,200 an ounce on Thursday morning, after posting gains for four consecutive days, its longest winning streak in a month.
US lawmakers ended the longest government shutdown in history, while the White House warned that October's jobs and inflation reports would likely not be released.
Expectations of interest rate cuts are supporting prices.
The lack of data during the lockdown led investors to disregard forecasts or rely on private statistics to assess the performance of the world's largest economy. Gold rose by about 5% this week, partly due to expectations of further interest rate cuts once the government resumes operations—a positive factor for the non-yielding asset.
But monetary policymakers are divided over the need for further reductions in borrowing costs, with Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic and Boston Fed President Susan Collins saying they prefer to keep interest rates steady to help ease inflation.
Gold fell 0.1% to $4,192.82 an ounce at 7:56 a.m. Singapore time. The Bloomberg dollar index remained steady, while silver held near record highs, platinum edged lower, and palladium was virtually unchanged.
