Gold inches up, breaking eight-session slide

Gold edged higher on Thursday, set to end its eight-session-long losing streak, last seen about the same time in 2016, as US bond yields and the dollar retreated from recent highs ahead of a keenly awaited non-farm payrolls report this week.

Spot gold rose 0.3% to $1,826.49 per ounce by 3.14am GMT, attempting a rebound from its weakest levels since March touched on Tuesday. US gold futures gained 0.3% to $1,840.90.

“While there is an attempt for gold prices to stabilise into today’s session, there is not much conviction of a reversal just yet,” IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong said.

Any moves before the US non-farm payrolls data this week may be short-lived, with the official job data still the key catalyst in dictating market direction ahead, along with the US consumer price index (CPI) data next week, he added.

Data on Thursday showed US private payrolls increased far less than expected in September. Markets now await the Labor Department’s more comprehensive employment report on Friday.

A broad sell-off in world government bonds on Wednesday drove up US 30-year treasury yields to 5% for the first time since 2007, and German 10-year yields to 3%, which could hasten a global slowdown and hurt stocks and corporate bonds.

Benchmark US 10-year bond yields fell from 16-year highs on Thursday and the US dollar was 0.2% lower, allaying some pressure on non-yielding gold.

SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund (ETF), said its holdings fell 0.5% to 869.31 metric tonnes on Wednesday, its lowest since August 2019.

The subdued dollar also buoyed other greenback-priced precious metals, with spot silver up 1.1% to $21.19 per ounce, having slipped to its lowest since mid-March this week.

Platinum gained 0.5% to $870.16, rising from its lowest in a year hit in the last session, and palladium firmed 1.2% to $1,181.15, off a five-year low touched on Wednesday. 

Reuters