NFP Report Looms: Will Gold Break Above $4,500 or Fall Back?
Gold prices have paused their two-day rally ahead of the highly anticipated US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report, due out at 12:30 GMT. The metal briefly touched $4,500 on Thursday but has since retreated to around $4,472.
The NFP report is expected to add 56K jobs in August after a net loss of 23K in July. Markets will also closely watch wage growth and any revisions to the July payrolls figure.
Fed Governor Christopher Waller's comments on Thursday led traders to pare back rate hike bets for the upcoming September meeting, with the odds of a 25-basis-point increase now standing at around 50%.
A stronger-than-expected NFP report could revive Fed rate hike bets and lift the US Dollar and Treasury yields, weighing on Gold. Conversely, another weak payroll reading could strengthen the case for the Fed to keep rates unchanged, helping Gold reclaim the $4,500 mark.