Gold Price Sinks to Near Two-Week Lows Amid US Labor Market Focus
The price of gold sank to nearly two-week lows on Tuesday as investors focused on upcoming US labor market data that could determine whether the Federal Reserve raises interest rates in September.
The spot gold price hovered around $4,450 an ounce in Asian hours after hitting its lowest level since August 19 on Monday. The precious metal has retreated significantly from last week's three-month high following Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's warning at Jackson Hole that policymakers may need to tighten again if inflation fails to move towards 2%.
The probability of a September increase now stands at about 66%, with the first test coming later Tuesday in the form of July's JOLTS job-openings report. The market expects only a modest decline in openings to 7.3 million, following June's 7.4 million. The ADP private-payroll report follows on Wednesday, before the official August employment report arrives Friday.
FXStreet analyst Dhwani Mehta sees $4,400 as an increasingly important near-term battleground, with the 21-day moving average near $4,430 and the 100-day average around $4,366. A recovery through the 200-day average near $4,531 would strengthen the bullish setup.