Gold rose slightly with anticipation of US data

Gold prices rose slightly today, as investors await a series of US economic data this week that may shed more light on the Federal Reserve’s (US central bank) policy regarding the path of interest rates.

By 02:56 GMT, gold in instant transactions rose 0.1 percent to $4,083.92 per ounce.

US gold futures for December delivery fell 0.2 percent to $4,085.30 an ounce.

Tim Water, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, said: “Perhaps the selling pressure on gold on Friday was a bit exaggerated, so we are witnessing a recovery in the price movement today.”

He added, “The decline in expectations of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve for next month is hindering gold in terms of returns. Despite the end of the government shutdown, there is no guarantee that the markets or even the Federal Reserve will be fully aware of the performance of the economy.”

Market participants are awaiting the release of US data this week, including the September non-farm payrolls report on Thursday, for indications of the strength of the world’s largest economy.

According to the CME Group’s Fed Watch tool, traders currently expect 46 percent of the interest rate to be cut by a quarter of a percentage point next month, down from 50 percent earlier in the week.

Non-yielding gold tends to thrive in low interest rate environments and during economic uncertainties.

As for other precious metals, silver rose in spot transactions by 0.8 percent to $50.96 per ounce.

Platinum rose 0.7 percent to $1,552.36, and palladium rose 1.7 percent to $1,408.13.