By Ishaan Arora
Bengaluru — Gold fell on Friday as commodity index readjustments and a firm dollar kept the pressure on prices, with investors positioning ahead of crucial US nonfarm payrolls data due later in the day.
Spot gold fell 0.4% to $4,464.57/oz by 3.53am GMT, though it was set for a 3% weekly gain. Bullion hit a record high of $4,549.71 on December 26.
US gold futures for February delivery firmed 0.3% to $4,473.60.
“Gold prices for the last three days have traded off on some profit-taking, but indeed a key driver at the moment is US dollar strength in advance of NFP data,” said independent analyst Ross Norman.
The dollar advanced to a near one-month high, as traders braced for a US Supreme Court decision on President Donald Trump’s use of emergency tariff powers. A stronger dollar makes greenback-priced bullion more expensive for other currency holders.
Economists expect modest job growth of 60,000 and a slight drop in the unemployment rate to 4.5% from 4.6%.
Prices are expected to face downward pressure over the next few days as the annual Bloomberg Commodity Index rebalancing — a periodic adjustment of commodity weightings to keep the index aligned with market conditions — begins this week.
“Several indices are reweighting the amount of precious metals and gold in them at the beginning of the year. So to some extent there’s a bit of weakness on index rebalancing but fundamentally I think that things remain quite positive,” Norman added.
Gold prices could rise to $5,000/oz in the first half of 2026 on rising geopolitical risks and debt, HSBC said.
Nonyielding assets tend to do well in a low-interest-rate environment and during economic uncertainties.
Spot silver lost 0.5% to $76.48/oz after hitting a record high of $83.62 on December 29. The white metal was on track for an over 5% weekly rise.
Spot platinum shed 1.8% to $2,227.11/oz after scaling a record peak of $2,478.50 last Monday. Palladium was steady at $1,786.18/oz. Both metals were set for weekly gains as well.
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