By Noel John
(Reuters) -Gold prices fell more than 1% on Friday and were set for a weekly decline after a robust U.S. jobs report dampened expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut next month, weighing on the non-yielding metal.
Spot gold fell 0.7% to $4,047.14 per ounce, as of 0909 GMT, after falling more than 1% earlier in the session. Bullion has dipped 0.5% this week.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery fell 0.4% to $4,044.50 per ounce.
“The prospect of further rate cuts has been somewhat doomed by decent labour market data that came out yesterday. I think that’s really the primary factor” weighing on gold, said Nitesh Shah, commodities strategist at WisdomTree.
MIXED VIEW OF US LABOUR MARKET
Thursday’s delayed U.S. jobs report offered a mixed view of the labour market, with non-farm payrolls increasing by 119,000 jobs, compared with estimates of 50,000, but the jobless rate hitting a four-year high.
The next jobs report is due only after the Fed’s December meeting, for which traders now see a 33% chance of a rate cut, down from 44% last week.
Gold, a non-yielding asset, tends to do well in low-interest-rate environments.
Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, who opposed the Fed’s most recent rate cut, on Thursday cautioned against lowering borrowing costs further due to inflation.
Meanwhile, physical gold demand across major Asian markets remained weak this week, as volatility in rates deterred potential buyers from making purchases.
FUNDAMENTALS INTACT
However, the fundamentals for gold remained intact and “factors such as slowing economic growth, expensive equity market valuation, geopolitical uncertainty, and diversification away from U.S. assets are likely to sustain robust investment demand and central-bank buying,” ANZ said in a note.
“I do think we are at the floor for gold prices at the moment. Prices may temporary go a little bit lower, but in general the path will be higher over the coming months,” WisdomTree’s Shah said.
Elsewhere, spot silver slipped 2.1% to $49.55 per ounce, platinum rose 0.2% to $1,515.25, and palladium dipped 0.2% to $1,375.
(Reporting by Noel John in Bengaluru; Editing by Alex Richardson)
