Gold ends up despite wobbling bets on Fed easing

Gold prices ended in the green today, Jan. 18, amid growing demand for safe haven assets in light of the escalating Middle East conflict. This is despite the release of Us economic readings that indicated the robustness of the country’s labor market.

Bullion for February delivery added 0.75%, or $15.10, to close at $2,021.60 per ounce, after hitting $2,024 in early trading, recovering from yesterday’s close at the lowest level in about five weeks.

Meanwhile, the US dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.10% to 103.55 points at 09:33 pm Makkah time, after slipping to 103.15 points earlier in the session.

Atlanta Federal Reserve President Rafael Bostic expects policymakers to begin cutting interest rates in the third quarter of this year. He noted that inflation is on track to rebound to the US central bank's 2% target.

Data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that jobless claim applications fell to 187,000 in the week ended Jan. 13, a decrease of 16,000 requests from the week before. This was the lowest level since Sept. 24, 2022, contrary to expectations for an increase to 206,000 applications.