Gold rises as the dollar declines

Gold rose during Wednesday’s trading, with the decline in the dollar and US Treasury bond yields, while investors awaited US jobs data later in the day to obtain indications about the monetary policy directions of the Federal Reserve (the US central bank).

Gold increased in spot transactions by 0.5 percent to $5,048.27 per ounce. US gold futures for April delivery rose 0.8 percent to $5,072.60 an ounce.

The dollar fell to its lowest levels in almost two weeks; This made gold priced in dollars more accessible to foreign buyers.

In addition, the yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds fell to the lowest level in about a month, after data showed a decline in US retail sales in December, and downward revisions to data for November and October.

The decline in US bond yields reduces the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as gold.

A Reuters poll of economists revealed that the closely watched Labor Department report on non-farm jobs, which will be released later today, is expected to show a potential increase of 70,000 jobs last month, after adding 50,000 jobs in December.

Expectations are that the report will show the unemployment rate stabilizing at 4.4 percent last month, and a slowdown in annual wage growth.

CME’s Fed Watch tool showed that investors expect interest rates to be cut by 25 basis points at least twice in 2026.

Gold, which does not generate a return, tends to rise as interest rates fall.

As for other precious metals, silver rose in spot transactions by 3.4 percent to record $83.40 per ounce, after falling by more than 3 percent in the previous session.