Gold rises ahead of US job data

Gold bars

Gold prices rose on Friday, Jan. 10, but are set to achieve their best weekly gain since mid-November, driven by increased demand for safe-haven assets amid growing uncertainty surrounding the policies of US President-elect Donald Trump.

Gold futures for February delivery climbed 0.3% to $2,698.7 per ounce as of 10:25 am KSA time, heading for a weekly rose of 1.7%.

Spot gold rose 0.28% to $2,677.39 per ounce, while silver futures for March delivery increased 0.27% to $31.1 per ounce. Meanwhile, spot platinum prices fell 0.2% to $955.53 per ounce.

Traders expect that the high tariffs the president-elect plans to impose on imports from several countries could reignite inflation in the United States.

This has led many Federal Reserve policymakers to cut their expectations for the monetary policy path this year. On Jan. 9, Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid said that the economy still faces inflation above the 2% target.

Attention now turns to the US monthly jobs report, set to be released later today. Expectations indicate the economy will add 154,000 jobs in December, compared to 227,000 in November.

Gold's gains were slightly capped by a modest 0.1% rise in the US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback's performance against a basket of major currencies, reaching 109 points.