Gold held steady on Thursday, hovering near all-time high hit in the previous session, buoyed by global uncertainties and increased expectations for a U.S. interest rate cut, while investors looked forward to a key U.S. jobs data due this week.
Spot gold held its ground at $3,561.97 per ounce, as of 0059 GMT. Bullion hit a record high of $3,578.50 on Wednesday.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery eased 0.4% to $3,619.40.
The U.S. Labor Department said on Wednesday that job openings, a measure of labor market demand, fell more than expected to 7.181 million in July.
Several Fed officials said labor market concerns continue to animate their belief that rate cuts lie ahead. Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he thinks the central bank should be cutting at its next meeting.
Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic reiterated his view that a rate cut is in the cards, although he did not say how soon it might happen.
Traders are currently pricing in a 97% chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut at the end of the U.S. Federal Reserve two-day policy meeting on September 17, up from 92% before the data, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
Non-yielding gold typically performs well in a low-interest-rate environment.
Focus now shifts to the U.S. non-farm payrolls data due on Friday. The August non-farm payrolls are expected to have grown by 78,000 jobs, according to Reuters poll, versus 73,000 in July.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the U.S. might have to “unwind” trade deals it reached with the European Union, Japan and South Korea, among others, if it loses a Supreme Court tariffs case, and warned that a loss would cause the U.S. “to suffer so greatly.”
Elsewhere, spot silver was flat at $41.19 per ounce. Platinum gained 0.2% to $1,423.63 and palladium fell 0.6% to $1,140.50.
