Gold takes a breather as focus turns to US jobs data

Gold prices edged lower on Wednesday despite a lower dollar as investors held back from making large bets ahead of the release of US payrolls data later this week, although trade war jitters kept prices above the key level of USD 2,900 per ounce.

Spot gold was down 0.1% at USD 2,913.99 an ounce as of 01:41 p.m. EST (1841 GMT). US gold futures settled 0.2% higher at USD 2,926.

The bullion was subdued on the day despite the US dollar dropping more than 1% to a four-month low

“There’s still buying interest out there now … there’s going to be some measure of caution ahead of Friday’s (payrolls data), but the underlying trend remains favorable,” said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals.

Concerns about US President Donald Trump’s tariff measures have driven up the prices of safe-haven gold to 11 record highs this year, peaking at USD 2,956.15 on February 24, and culminating in an overall year-to-date gain of 11%.

In an address to Congress late on Tuesday, Trump said further tariffs would follow on April 2, including “reciprocal tariffs” and non-tariff actions aimed at balancing out years of trade imbalances.

That move would follow new 25% tariffs on most imports from Mexico and Canada that took effect on Tuesday, along with a doubling of duties on Chinese goods to 20%.

The ADP National Employment Report revealed a slowdown in US private payrolls growth in February, with an increase of only 77,000 jobs, below the forecast for a gain of 140,000.

Economists surveyed by Reuters are predicting US nonfarm payrolls for February will show a gain of 160,000 jobs when the data is released on Friday.

“If the number comes out really bad, I would imagine gold sells off. If it comes out neutral, I don’t think that’s going to move the needle too much. But if it comes out bullish, then gold takes off and we get pretty quick to USD 3,000, if not higher than that,” said Daniel Pavilonis, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.

Spot silver advanced 1.7% to USD 32.52 an ounce and palladium fell 0.6% to USD 936.40. Platinum gained 0.1% to USD 961.55.

(Reporting by Anmol Choubey in Bengaluru; Editing by Paul Simao and Alan Barona)