Gold fell on Thursday as investors held back from making significant bets, awaiting US payroll data later in the day for insight into the Federal Reserve’s policy direction.
Spot gold lost 0.3 percent to $3,348.10 per ounce, while US gold futures were steady at $3,359.10.
Gold appears to be consolidating at present within the $3,320 to $3,360 range, with the market adopting a wait-and-see approach ahead of US non-farm payroll and ISM Services PMI data, rather than taking significant positions, OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong said.
Data released by ADP showed US private payrolls dropped by 33,000 jobs in June, marking the first decline in more than two years, as economic uncertainty hampered hiring.
Meanwhile, low layoffs continued to anchor the labor market.
The non-farm payrolls report, due on Thursday, is expected to show an addition of 110,000 jobs in June, down from 139,000 in May, according to a Reuters poll.
Meanwhile, the US will impose a lower-than-promised 20 percent tariff on various goods from Vietnam, President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday. The Southeast Asian nation is the US’ tenth-largest trading partner.
“The Vietnam trade deal has likely already been priced into the market, and I think the primary concern now is the status of other deals with major economies that are still in limbo,” Wong said.
The US and India negotiators pushed to finalize a tariff-reducing deal ahead of Trump’s July 9 deadline.
Trump has indicated no signs of extending the negotiation deadline despite stalled discussions with Japan, another key trade partner, but expressed optimism about an India deal.
