Publications
Partners
Singapore - Gold held near a three-month low after a government report showed the pace of US jobs growth accelerated in October, backing the case for higher interest rates in December.
Bullion for immediate delivery climbed 0.3% to $1 093.30 an ounce at 09:01, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. Prices sank as much as 1.7% on Friday to $1,085.56, the lowest since August 7.
Gold investors are seeking to divine when US rates will rise for the first time since 2006, as higher borrowing costs dent bullion’s appeal. The 271 000 gain in payrolls was the biggest this year and exceeded all estimates in a Bloomberg survey, a Labour Department report showed on Friday.
Fed chair Janet Yellen last week said improvements in the US economy meant an increase next month was a ‘live possibility’ if economic data hold up.
“The US jobs data have greatly boosted confidence of a December rate rise,” Xu Wenyu, a Shanghai-based analyst at Huatai Great Wall Futures, said by phone. “Money has been flowing out of gold. We may see occasional spurts of buying, but gold remains on a downtrend.”
Gold assets
Investors cut their holdings in bullion-backed funds to the smallest in more than two months. Gold assets in exchange-traded products shrank 1.8% last week to 1 512.79 metric tons, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Fed-fund futures data show odds that policy makers will increase rates in December have risen to 70% from 50% a week earlier.
Spot silver and platinum dropped for an eighth day, both the longest streaks since March, while palladium fell 0.7% after a 2.4% gain on Friday. Bullion of 99.99% purity declined as much as 1.8% to $1 091.41 an ounce on the Shanghai Gold Exchange, the lowest since August 11.
China probably boosted central-bank gold holdings again in October, raising them by about 14 tons. The value of gold assets was $63.26 billion at the end of last month from $61.19bn at end-September, according to the People’s Bank of China.
That works out to 1 722.5 tons based on the London Bullion Market Association afternoon price auction on October 30, Bloomberg calculations show. The stash was 1 708.5 tons a month earlier.
