By Ashitha Shivaprasad
(Reuters) – Gold prices declined on Thursday as recent economic data tempered expectations of an aggressive U.S. rate cut in November, while investors turned their attention to the upcoming payrolls data.
Spot gold was down 0.5% to $2,644.55 per ounce by 0852 GMT, after climbing a record high of $2,685.42 last week.
U.S. gold futures shed 0.2% to $2,664.70.
Data on Wednesday showed that U.S. private payrolls increased more than expected in September, evidence that labor market conditions were not deteriorating.
Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin said the fight to return inflation to the U.S. central bank’s 2% target may take longer than expected and limit how far rates can be cut.
Bets of the Fed cutting rates by 50 basis points in November fell to 34% from 49% last week, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
“While there was some safe-haven buying following the announcement of the Iranian attack, the possibility that rate cuts might not be as aggressive as anticipated likely limited the gains and continue to do so,” said Zain Vawda, market analyst at MarketPulse by OANDA.
Israel bombed Beirut earlier in the day, after its forces suffered their deadliest day on the Lebanese front in a year of clashes with Iran-backed Hezbollah. The strike comes a day after Iran fired more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel.
Non-yielding bullion is a preferred investment amid a low-interest rate environment, as well as during times of geopolitical unrest.
Market spotlight is on the U.S. non-farm payrolls report due on Friday.
“Weak data print or uptick in unemployment could extend the upper end of the range for gold toward $2,700. It will all depend on how weak the data is and its impact on rate cut expectations,” said Vawda.
Spot silver fell 1.2% to $31.49, platinum dropped 1.3% to $989.10 and palladium slipped 2% to $995.00.
(Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)
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