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Investing.com — Gold prices stabilized near two-week highs on Friday, with firm bets on Fed rate cuts weighing on the dollar and further non-farm jobs data due later in the day. Against the backdrop of clues, the major standards were exceeded. .
The yellow metal has largely canceled out the Fed’s signal that it would cut rates later this year than expected, instead using interest rate losses to push it closer to its 2024 peak.
But gold prices’ gains on Friday halted as the market sank ahead of the jobs report, which is largely expected to be factored into the Fed’s interest rate plans.
By 12:47 a.m. ET (5:47 p.m. Japan time), March maturities rose 0.1% to $2,056.20 an ounce, above the $2,050 level for the first time in two weeks. It came to $2,073.35. Both companies rose about 1.9% this week, but were expected to decline for the second consecutive week.
Gold’s recovery also comes after a tough start to 2024, with the yellow metal falling 1.2% as markets began to steadily price in expectations of a March interest rate cut.
Market expects interest rate cut in May as payroll statistics approach
While the Fed mostly missed expectations for a March interest rate cut, traders are now pricing in the possibility of a 25 basis point rate cut in May, which has shown to be a boon to bullion prices.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs say the central bank is expected to cut rates at least four more times after May.
Although U.S. interest rates are expected to remain high in the near term, the prospect of an eventual decline in rates (which Fed Chairman Jerome Powell also warned about at a meeting earlier this week) bodes well for bullion prices. be.
Still, the Fed has not given any clear indication of the timing or extent of its planned rate cuts, and has offered a largely data-driven approach to lowering rates.
As a result, the Fed’s forecasts are expected to factor heavily into the Fed’s forecasts, which will be released later on Friday. The central bank has indicated that it will take into account the cooling of the labor market when cutting interest rates.
Friday’s figures are expected to show some cooling in the labor market into January. However, I was surprised that the predictions were always positive.
Copper prices fall, heading for weekly loss on China issue
Copper prices fell on Friday and were on track to end the week lower amid persistent concerns about a slowing economic recovery in China, the biggest importer of industrial metals.
The pound, which expires in March, fell 0.5% to $3.8342 per pound, and is down 0.3% this week.
Copper losses were mainly driven by China’s overwhelming Purchasing Managers Index data, with official data showing the contraction continued into January. This has fueled concerns about a slowdown in domestic demand.
