May 06, 2022 01:26AM ET
By: AnalysisWatch
Gold prices gained in Asia Thursday morning, but are on track for a third straight weekly loss. The U.S. dollar and government bond yields rose due to the Federal Reserve's restrictive stance, and investors are now waiting for the latest U.S. jobs report.
Gold futures rose 0.01% to $1,875.84 at 1:18 a.m. ET, with the yellow metal down about 1% for the week.
The dollar, which usually moves inversely to gold, eased slightly on Friday but was headed for a fifth week of gains. Benchmark U.S. government bond yields continued to rise after hitting their highest level since November 2018 in the previous session.
Investors are now waiting for the latest U.S. jobs report to be released later today, including non-labor market data.
"I wouldn't be surprised if the payroll numbers came in above consensus again, and that would not be good for gold as the market would interpret that as a sign of a 75 basis point rate hike at the Fed meeting in July," Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, told Reuters.
The Fed raised its interest rate to 1% on Wednesday, and the Bank of England followed suit by raising its rate to 1% a day later.
In equity markets, Asian stocks fell as investors worried that rising interest rates would hurt global economic growth.
With the market selling everything again, the "don't fight the Fed" motto seems to be back in play, Innes said.
In other precious metals, silver fell 0.5% to $22.38 per ounce, facing its third consecutive weekly decline.
Platinum slipped 2.7% and palladium fell 0.6%.
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