Gold futures were trading steady this morning during the Asian trade hours. The spot contract was near a five month high after softer than expecting job payroll data out of the United States.
Traders are digesting whether or not this labor data will increase the odds that the Federal Reserve may stop raising interest rates sooner than anticipated.
The widely traded spot gold contract was steady during the Asian session. The contract was, as of 1 am GMT, trading at $1,247.80 per ounce. Earlier in the session, this contract hit its highest since July at 11 at $1,250.55 per ounce.
U.S. gold futures, for front end delivery, was trading higher. This contract gained 0.2 percent to trade at $1,254.6 per ounce.
The dollar was down against the euro and the yen today. Equities also continued to move lower this morning as trade tensions between China and the United States weighed on sentiment.
Gold Traders Watch NFP Data and Trade Rhetoric
Looking at U.S. labor data, the Non-farm payroll report was up 155,000 jobs for the month of November. This was well below the expected print of adding 200,000 jobs.
The Federal Reserve Board has been talking about a turning point with monetary policy. Another policymaker backed rate hikes in the “near term” but spoke about some uncertainty towards the current rate hike cycle.
Looking at trade new between the U.S .and China, both countries must reach a successful deal by March 1. If not, then new tariffs will be imposed. This comes from U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. He said that March1 is a “hard deadline.”