BENGALURU- Gold prices held steady on Monday after a sharp sell-off in the previous session on stronger-than-expected US jobs data, with investors awaiting the Federal Reserve policy meeting this week for further direction.
Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $2,295.29 per ounce. US gold futures fell 0.5 percent to $2,312.20.
Bullion declined 3.5 percent on Friday in its biggest drop since November 2020 after the US jobs report and China data showing the world’s top consumer held off gold purchases in May after 18 consecutive months of buying.
“The medium-term bullish trend that was in picture since last week or so has now a chance of being damaged from a technical perspective,” said Kelvin Wong, a senior market analyst for Asia Pacific at OANDA.
The jobs report led traders to once again shift their expectations of when the Fed will cut rates and by how much. The chances of a rate cut in September are now at roughly 50 percent , down from around 70 percent late on Thursday.
The Fed is not expected to make any change at its policy meeting, but the focus will be on the comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell and changes to economic projections from the policymakers. US inflation data is also due on Wednesday.
