By Anushree Mukherjee and Brijesh Patel
(Reuters) – Gold prices edged lower on Monday as investors booked profits after a sharp rise in the previous session on weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data that boosted expectations for a U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cut in September.
Spot gold lost 0.1% to $3,360.62 per ounce, as of 0432 GMT. Bullion rose more than 2% on Friday. However, U.S. gold futures gained 0.4% to $3,412.80.
“Gold has made a conservative start to the week following Friday’s price jump. A combination of profit-taking and dollar stabilisation has caused gold to ease marginally to kick-off the week,” KCM Trade chief market analyst, Tim Waterer, said.
Last week, nonfarm payrolls increased by 73,000 jobs last month, after a downwardly revised gain of 14,000 in June, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said. This revived hopes of a Fed rate cut in September, with markets now pricing in an 81% chance, per CME FedWatch tool.
The tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump imposed last week on scores of countries are likely to stay in place rather than be cut as part of continuing negotiations, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on CBS show “Face the Nation”, aired on Sunday.
“But with Trump on the tariff warpath once again, and the soft U.S. jobs report increasing the odds that we could see a September FOMC rate cut, any pullbacks in the precious metal could be of a shallow nature,” Waterer said.
Gold, traditionally considered a safe-haven asset during political and economic uncertainties, tends to thrive in a low-interest-rate environment.
Citi raised its gold price forecast over next three months to $3,500 per ounce from $3,300, and the expected trading range to $3,300–$3,600 from $3,100–$3,500, on the belief that near-term U.S. growth and inflation outlook has deteriorated.
Spot silver rose 0.2% to $37.10 per ounce, platinum slipped 0.6% to $1,307.52 and palladium eased 0.6% to $1,201.44.
(Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee and Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
