By Ishaan Arora
Bengaluru — Gold prices slid on Wednesday as investors booked profits after prices briefly climbed to a more than one-week high in earlier trade as a stronger dollar weighed on sentiment across the precious metals complex ahead of key US jobs data due this week.
Spot gold fell 0.7% to $4,466.19/oz by 3.30am GMT. Bullion touched a record high of $4,549.71 on December 26.
US gold futures for February delivery were 0.4% lower at $4,477.30.
“[Precious metals] have gone up [quickly] this week and there’s always a bit of profit-taking ... the dollar has also helped pressure prices,” said GoldSilver Central MD Brian Lan.
The dollar moved in a tight range, near a more than two-week high ahead of a slew of US economic data, making greenback-priced assets more expensive for other currency holders.
Investors expect at least two rate cuts by the Fed this year, while they look to non-farm payroll data due on Friday for more clues. The job openings survey and ADP private payrolls data on Wednesday may also set the tone for the market.
Federal Reserve governor Stephen Miran, whose term ends later this month, said on Tuesday that aggressive US interest rate cuts are needed to keep the economy moving forward.
Nonyielding assets tend to do well in a low-interest-rate environment and during times of geopolitical or economic uncertainty.
On the geopolitical front, Caracas and Washington reached a deal to export up to $2bn worth of Venezuelan crude to the US, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, a move that would divert supplies from China following what Venezuelan officials call a kidnapping of former president Nicolás Maduro.
Spot silver lost 1.2% to $80.34/oz, down from a record high of $83.62 on December 29.
Spot platinum dropped 2.9% to $2,373.0/oz, receding from a record high of $2,478.50 last Monday. It gained more than 3% earlier in the session.
Palladium traded 2.5% lower at $1,777.22/oz.
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