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Gold futures flipped between small gains and losses early Friday as traders awaited the release of an official U.S. employment report that’s expected to show the pace of job creation picked up significantly in October.
Gold for December delivery
GC00,
GCZ21,
was down 10 cents at $1,793.40 an ounce on Comex. December silver
SI00,
SIZ21,
was down 8.1 cents, or 0.3%, at $23.82 an ounce.
Gold futures rose Thursday as Treasury yields retreated, lowering the opportunity cost of holding nonyielding assets, after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced widely expected plans to begin tapering its bond purchases and signaled it would remain patient on raising interest rates.
The focus on Friday turns to the October jobs report, which is expected to show nonfarm payrolls rose by 450,000 after two months of lackluster gains.
“If the official figures turn out to be unexpectedly positive, as the ADP’s data were the day before yesterday, this could put a dampener on the gold price,” said Daniel Briesemann, analyst at Commerzbank, in a note, referring to stronger-than-expected ADP private-sector payrolls data released Wednesday.
Gold has remained trapped in a $30 range from $1,770 to $1,800 an ounce, said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities, in a note.
“Solid buying is noted towards the lower end if the range, while liquation remains at the higher end, suggesting for now the battle to overcome strong resistance at the higher end of the range remains a problem,” he said. “However, with the Fed now on course in paving the way for a monetary policy tightening next year, the gold market is likely to remain dull at best.”
