Gold prices remained nearly unchanged on Thursday as investors digested weaker-than-expected U.S. economic data and ongoing global economic and political uncertainties, while awaiting key U.S. employment figures due the following day for further guidance.
As of 06:11 GMT, spot gold edged down 0.3% to $3,365.73 per ounce. U.S. gold futures also declined 0.3% to $3,388.90 per ounce.
According to ANZ commodity strategist Sony Kumari, the modest price fluctuations currently do not signal a clear trend, as gold maintains relatively strong momentum.
The Federal Reserve recently reported a slowdown in U.S. economic activity, attributing it partly to increased tariffs raising costs and prices since the last policy meeting. The U.S. services sector contracted in May for the first time in nearly a year.
The ADP National Employment Report revealed that private sector job growth in May was the slowest in over two years, preceding the official nonfarm payroll data release on Friday.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump described Chinese President Xi Jinping as “very difficult to reach an agreement with” and reiterated calls for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates.
Trump’s doubling of steel and aluminum import tariffs has taken effect, with his administration seeking the “best offers” from trade partners to avoid further tariffs planned for July.
Matt Simpson, senior analyst at City Index, said, “Gold remains in a holding pattern, supported by Trump’s trade headlines but reluctant to break this week’s highs.”
Gold is traditionally viewed as a safe haven during periods of political and economic uncertainty and tends to thrive in low interest rate environments.
Other metals saw mixed movements: spot silver dropped 1.4% to $34.47 per ounce, platinum rose 0.4% to $1,089.41 per ounce, and palladium fell 0.4% to $997.19 per ounce.
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