Gold Hits Two-Week High As Fed Rate Cut Bets Increase
On Friday, spot gold reached a new two-week high of $2,468.53 an ounce and is expected to record its biggest one-week gain since early April.
Spot gold reached a fresh two-week high of $2,468.53 an ounce on Friday and is expected to record its biggest one-week gain since early April after disappointing U.S. economic data further bolstered market expectations for a September interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
The latest data showed U.S. manufacturing activity contracted faster than expected in July, while jobless claims rose to a near one-year high of 249,000.
Market participants are now awaiting the release of the key U.S. non-farm payrolls report later in the session to gain more insight into macroeconomic conditions. According to market consensus expectations, US Non-Farm Payrolls may have increased by 175,000 jobs in July, down from 206,000 in June.
Lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding gold, which pays no interest.
In addition, the heightened risk of conflict in the Middle East following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has supported safe-haven demand for gold.
Spot gold was up 0.72% as of 6:46 GMT on Friday, trading at $2,464.06 an ounce. Gold is expected to record a weekly gain of 3.26%.
Gold futures for December delivery rose 1.12% to trade at $2,508.55 an ounce.
On the other hand, silver futures for September delivery rose 1.95% to trade at $29.032 an ounce.
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