By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Gold was down on Friday morning in Asia, but remained near the key $1,800 mark as investors await the latest U.S. jobs report.
Gold futures were down 0.39% to $1,801.90 by 1:24 PM ET (5:24 AM GMT) and were set for their worst weekly performance since mid-June 2020.
The U.S. report, including non-farm payrolls data, is due later in the day and could dictate the U.S. Federal Reserve’s next policy move.
“If we get a combination of really solid payroll numbers coming on the back of a hawkish rhetoric by the Fed, I think it’ll spook any interest rate sensitive markets like gold... That’s why we’re seeing risk reductions right now,” SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes told Reuters.
However, a complete meltdown in gold is highly unlikely and support level of $1,790 should hold, he added.
Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida’s remarks earlier in the week that conditions for a rate hike could be met in late 2022 sparked concerns that asset tapering could begin as early as this year. His views were echoed by Fed Governor Christopher Waller as the economic recovery from COVID-19 continues and the labor market improves.
Indicative of sentiment, holdings in SPDR Gold Trust (P:GLD), the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell to 1,027.61 tons on Thursday.
In other precious metals, silver edged down 0.2% and was down about 1.5% for the week. Platinum fell 0.6% and palladium was flat at $2,649.71.