Gold prices fell on Thursday, pressured by a stronger dollar, as investors awaited the release of a key U.S. jobs report later in the week to gauge the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy direction and assess the level of U.S. pressure on Venezuela.
Markets are trying to balance escalating geopolitical tensions, primarily the US intervention in Venezuela, with macroeconomic signals coming from the United States, according to market analysts.
A strong dollar limits gains for the precious metal.
The dollar remained stable near its highest levels in more than two weeks, supported by investor positioning ahead of several US labor market data releases this week.
Weak labor market data has reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates further, which supports non-yielding gold, but investor appetite remains balanced, taking into account the potential for volatility and profit-taking at higher levels.
Gold is only about $110 away from its record high of $4,549.71 reached on December 29, but the strength of the dollar and profit-taking have limited further gains.
Signs of a slowing labor market and anticipation of monetary policy
Data released on Wednesday showed that the number of job vacancies in the United States fell to its lowest level in 14 months during November, as the pace of hiring remained weak, reflecting a decline in demand for labor.
Investors are currently focused on the US non-farm payrolls data due on Friday, looking for further clues about the direction of monetary policy.
On the other hand, the rebalancing of weights within the Bloomberg Commodity Index this week is expected to affect liquidity in the markets, especially with the reduction of weights allocated to both gold and silver, which gives short-term speculators more room to make profits, which may put additional pressure on prices.
The annual rebalancing of the Bloomberg Commodity Index is carried out with the aim of maintaining an accurate representation of current developments in global commodity markets, with the implementation period this year running from January 9 to 15.
Gold now
Spot gold fell 0.7% to $4,423.20 an ounce.
US gold futures for February delivery also fell by 0.7% to $4,432.0.
Gold at settlement yesterday
Gold futures prices fell at the end of trading on Wednesday, pressured by profit-taking by investors.
At the end of trading, the price of gold futures contracts for February delivery fell by 0.75% or $33.60 to $4462.50 per ounce.
Extensive pressure on other metals
Spot silver fell 2.7% to $76.01 an ounce, after hitting a record high of $83.62 on December 29.
HSBC expects silver prices to range between $58 and $88 during 2026, driven by tight physical supply, strong investment demand and rising gold prices, while warning of a possible market correction later in the year.
Spot platinum fell 3.2% to $2,232.50 an ounce, after hitting a record high of $2,478.50 at the start of last week.
Palladium also fell by 2.4% to $1,720.75 an ounce, continuing the wave of pressure affecting precious metals markets in general.
