Gold steady ahead of US job data

Gold prices held firm on Friday, Jan. 5, as investors awaited the release of the US non-farm payrolls report for December, along with unemployment data, to gather more information about the next steps for the Federal Reserve.

Gold for February delivery settled at $2,051.60 per ounce at 10:30 AM KSA time.

Spot prices also stabilized at $2,044.18 per ounce, while silver for March delivery rose by 0.49% to $23.30. On the other hand, the spot platinum price declined by 0.64% to $952.83 per ounce.

Data from the US Department of Labor released on Jan. 4 showed a drop of 18,000 in initial jobless claims to 202,000 during the past week, compared to expectations of an increase to 210,000. This indicates the continued strength of the US labor market despite monetary tightening.

Markets are anticipating the release of non-farm payrolls data later today, with expectations of the US economy adding 170,000 jobs in December, compared to an addition of 199,000 jobs in the previous month.