By Harshit Verma
(Reuters) – Gold inched lower on Monday as risk appetite picked up, while traders awaited further cues on the U.S. central bank’s monetary policy path with Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell and a slew of Fed members’ speeches due this week.
Spot gold was down 0.3% at $1,987.29 per ounce at 1152 GMT after rising above the key $2,000 level on Friday. U.S. gold futures fell 0.2% to $1,994.50.
A combination of Powell’s speech last week, and weaker than expected U.S. jobs data, raised expectations that the Fed will end the current hiking cycle, which has raised investors’ risk appetite, said ActivTrades senior analyst Ricardo Evangelista.
Other assets – such as S&P 500 futures – are up, hinting at a diversion of flows from gold and hence a slight drop in bullion prices, added Evangelista.
World shares were heading for a sixth straight session of gains, helped by last week’s bond rally. [MKTS/GLOB]
Data on Friday showed U.S. jobs growth slowed in October, and the increase in annual wages was the smallest in nearly 2-1/2 years.
Traders are now pricing in a 95% chance that the Fed will leave rates unchanged in December and an 86% chance that the first policy easing will come as soon as June.
Also lowering bullion’s appeal, benchmark 10-year Treasury yields rose to 4.5953% after hitting a five-week low on Friday. [US/]
Investors will be looking out for cues on the Fed’s interest rate path, with at least nine Fed members speaking this week, including Powell on Nov. 9.
COMEX gold speculators raised their net long position by 15,661 contracts to 106,343 in the week ended Oct. 31, CFTC data showed on Friday.
Spot silver was unchanged at $23.2 per ounce, platinum fell 0.4% to $933.45 and palladium gained 0.7% to $1,126.97.
(Reporting by Harshit Verma and Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Potter)
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