Gold prices were lower on the London spot market Friday, ahead of United States nonfarm payrolls data that is expected to offer fresh support for the view that interest rates will rise before the end of this year. Holdings in exchange-traded funds backed by gold rose 1.9 metric tons to 1,532.06 tons as of Thursday, the highest since July 30, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
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The most active gold contract for December delivery lost Dollars 1.5 (0.13 percent) to settle at USD 1,113.7 per ounce, reported Xinhua news agency.
Traders will keeping eye on US economic data.
Spot gold was little changed at $1,112.60 an ounce by 0048 GMT, not far from a two-week low of $1,110.75 reached in the previous session.
The data is being watched for clues on whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this year. About 42 % of platinum demand comes from its use in pollution-control units in diesel engines, in accordance with Morgan Stanley.
The timing of a Fed rate hike has been a constant source of debate in the markets in recent months.
Platinum slid for an eighth session out of nine on Wednesday to trade near its lowest since December 2008, and was headed for its biggest quarterly slump in seven years on fears of a demand fallout from the Volkswagen emissions scandal.
“If the labour market report in the U.S. turns out to be better than anticipated tomorrow, this would increase the probability of a Fed rate hike before the year is out”, Commerzbank said.
Meanwhile, palladium bucked the decline in other precious metals to rise 2.1 percent to $686.80 an ounce, having earlier touched a three-month high of $693.50 an ounce. “ADP data shows USA payrolls in September could beat forecast estimates”.
“The ISM manufacturing data has… added a negative tone for the Fed rate hike decision but the ultimate test will be tomorrow, and if we have a strong reading it could push the gold price lower”.
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On Tuesday, platinum futures in New York fell to levels last seen during the global financial crisis as investors spooked by the fallout from a cheating scandal at the world’s largest automaker continue to abandon the metal. Silver futures plunged 0.572 dollar or 3.79 percent to close at USD 14.53 per troy ounce at the COMEX. Prices fell 3.2 percent this week, the most since the five days ended March 6.
