Gold aiming for best week in seven while hitting a four-week peak on Friday, boosting on safe-haven demand driven by uncertainty over the coming policies of President-elect Donald Trump.
U.S. nonfarm payrolls jumped up 256,000 for December, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, that’s up from 212,000 in November and handily beating the 155,000 forecast from the Dow Jones consensus.
The jobs report is a key indicator that Federal Reserve policymakers look at when determining monetary policy. The minutes of the last Fed meeting in December showed this week that officials are worried that policies supported by President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office in 10 days, could worsen inflation. The Fed has said it closely watches both inflation and labor market data when setting monetary policy.
Private sector companies added fewer jobs than expected in the ADP Employment Report for December, data showed Wednesday. Weekly initial jobless claims for last week fell to an 11-month low, however, data that’s seen as a signal of job stability.
Front-month gold futures rose 0.7% Thursday to settle at $2,690.80 an ounce on Comex, and the most-active February contract is up 1.4% so far this week. Bullion dropped 1.5% in December after losing 2.5% in November and rising 3.4% in October. The metal gained 27% in 2024, its biggest annual gain since 2010. Gold’s 2024 rally was spurred by the Fed, the economy and global central bank buying cycles. The February contract is currently up $31.50 (+1.17%) an ounce to $2722.30 and the DG spot price is $2695.20.
While the Fed minutes didn’t mention Trump by name, they referred to the impact on the U.S. economy of policies he’s backed on immigrants and trade. The policymakers indicated that that may require some caution in further cuts to interest rates.
“Almost all participants judged that upside risks to the inflation outlook had increased,” the minutes stated.
The Fed reduced its benchmark interest in September, November and December. It’s now at 4.25% to 4.50%. Previously, the central bank had kept rates at 5.25% to 5.50% for a year after raising them by 5.25 percentage points since March 2022 to combat inflation. Higher rates are considered bearish for gold, making it less attractive as an alternate investment to other assets.
More than 97% of the investors tracked by the CME FedWatch Tool are now betting that the Fed will keep rates unchanged at the end of this month. The rest expect another 25 basis point cut.
Private payrolls added a seasonally adjusted 122,000 jobs last month in the ADP report. That’s down from 146,000 in November and below economists’ consensus forecast for 136,000. Wages grew 4.6% from a year earlier, the slowest pace since July 2021. Weekly initial jobless claims slipped 10,000 to 201,000, the lowest level since February of last year.
Front-month silver futures rallied 1.1% Thursday to $31.02 an ounce on Comex, and the most-active March contract rose 3.2% in the first four days of the week. Silver dropped 6% in December after falling 5.1% in November and advancing 4.3% in October. It gained 21% in 2024. The March contract is currently up $0.335 (+1.08%) an ounce to $31.350 and the DG spot price is $30.52.
Spot palladium increased 0.1% Thursday to $942.50 an ounce and is up 0.2% so far this week. Palladium fell 6.7% in December after sliding 12% in November and increasing 11% in October. Palladium dropped 17% last year. The current DG spot price is up $34.30 an ounce to $960.00
Spot platinum rose 0.4% Thursday to $967.10 an ounce and gained 1.5% in the first four days of the week. Platinum lost 4.6% last month after declining 4.2% in November and rising 1.5% in October. Platinum slid 8.4% in 2024. The DG spot price is currently up $8.10 an ounce to $966.30.
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