Gold prices decline slightly on stronger US dollar

Gold alloys

Gold prices declined slightly today, Nov. 28, pressured by the stronger US dollar as investors assessed the recent economic data that indicated the strength of the US labor market.

Gold futures prices for December delivery witnessed a modest drop of 0.15%, or $3.70, to $2,636.20 per ounce at 11:07 am Makkah time, while spot prices held ground at $2,636.50 apiece.

Likewise, silver contracts for December delivery shed 0.78% to trade at $29.87 an ounce, while palladium spot prices increased marginally by 0.15% to $929.70 per ounce.

Trading on the yellow metal is likely to be sluggish today as US markets closed in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday, after futures achieved slight gains of 0.1% at the close of yesterday’s session.

Data released yesterday showed that the number of applications for US unemployment benefits fell to a seven-month low, indicating that the labor market remains strong despite high interest rates.

Accordingly, the US dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, climbed by 0.23% to 106 points.

The CME FedWatch Tool indicated that investors are now pricing in a 68% chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut at the December meeting, compared to 59.4% a day ago and 55.9% last week.