Gold slips as traders await US payroll data

Bengaluru — Gold fell on Thursday as investors held back from making significant bets, awaiting US payroll data later in the day for insight into the Federal Reserve’s policy direction.

Spot gold lost 0.3% to $3,348.10/oz by 4.12am GMT, while US gold futures were steady at $3,359.10.

Gold appeared to be consolidating at present within the $3,320-$3,360 range, with the market adopting a wait-and-see approach ahead of US nonfarm payroll and ISM Services purchasing managers index (PMI) data, rather than taking significant positions, Oanda senior market analyst Kelvin Wong said.

Data released by ADP showed US private payrolls dropped by 33,000 jobs in June, marking the first decline in more than two years, as economic uncertainty hampered hiring.

Meanwhile, low layoffs continued to anchor the labour market.

The nonfarm payrolls report, due on Thursday, is expected to show an addition of 110,000 jobs in June, down from 139,000 in May, according to a Reuters poll.

Meanwhile, the US would impose a lower-than-promised 20% tariff on various goods from Vietnam, President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday. The Southeast Asian nation is the US’s 10th-largest trading partner.

“The Vietnam trade deal has likely already been priced into the market, and I think the primary concern now is the status of other deals with major economies that are still in limbo,” Wong said.

The US and India negotiators pushed to finalise a tariff-reducing deal ahead of Trump’s July 9 deadline.

Trump has indicated no signs of extending the negotiation deadline despite stalled discussions with Japan, another key trade partner, but expressed optimism about an India deal.

Non-yielding gold tends to perform well during economic uncertainty and in a low-interest-rate environment.

Spot silver fell 0.5% to $36.40/oz, platinum lost 1.3% to $1,400.65 and palladium shed 1.1% to $1,142.

Reuters