Gold gains heading for a new weekly gain, focus turns to US job ‎data ‎

Gold prices rose today, Friday, heading for a third consecutive weekly gain, as investors eagerly await a major jobs report in the United States to determine the position of the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) regarding raising interest rates.

By 0238 GMT, gold in instant transactions rose 0.3 percent to $ 1838.38 an ounce. Prices increased about 0.8 percent during the week

According to Reuters, US gold futures rose 0.2 percent to $1,843.80.

Market focus shifts to non-farm payrolls data due to be released by the US Labor Department on Friday

The benchmark 10-year bond yield fell during the day.

Few US central bank officials on Thursday confirmed their commitment to the fight to bring inflation down to the 2 percent target, but St. Louis Federal Reserve Chairman James Bullard said 2023 could finally see some relief in the fight against inflation.

High interest rates lead to a decline in the attractiveness of the yellow metal, which represents a hedge against inflation, but does not generate a return.

Data on Thursday showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell to a three-month low last week, indicating a labor market remains tight and could keep the US central bank on a path of sharp interest rate hikes.

“Labor market weakness is just around the corner, and until that happens, gold may remain stuck above the $1,800 level,” Edward Moya, senior analyst at OANDA, said in a note.

As for other precious metals, spot silver rose 0.4 percent to $23.30, while platinum increased 0.2 percent to $1,060.63, and palladium fell 0.2 percent to $1,741.43. The three metals are heading to record a weekly decline.