Gold Prices Slip Below $4,440 as Strong US Jobs Data Boosts Fed Rate Hike Bets

Gold prices fell below $4,440 on Comex after a stronger-than-expected US jobs report. The report showed that the US economy added 162,000 jobs in August, nearly three times the 56,000 expected. This has pushed expectations for a September Fed rate hike higher.

The US unemployment rate remained at 4.1 percent, and markets are now pricing in roughly a 57 percent chance of a September hike. The domestic MCX gold futures traded 0.22 percent lower on Monday, just above Rs 1,52,430 per 10 grams.

Ashish Rajodiya, Commodity Research Analyst at PL Capital, noted that the stronger oil prices tend to stoke inflation-hedge demand for gold and silver, but raise input costs across industry, particularly for silver. He estimated that despite the pullback, metals remain well above last week's lows, suggesting a pause in the broader uptrend rather than a genuine reversal.

The next set of triggers for the market comes from the US data calendar, with the Producer Price Index and Consumer Price Index both due this week, just ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting later this month. These prints will be closely watched for confirmation of whether inflation is cooling enough to offset the hawkish signal from Friday's jobs data.