Gold prices stayed upbeat at $3409 an ounce on Monday morning in Asia after having jumped higher on Friday as demand for the safe-haven metal increased after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order and thereby swiftly hit around 69 trading partners of the US with new tariffs, with the imposition set to go into effect in a week's time. Front Month Comex Gold for August delivery surged 2% to $3416 an ounce on Friday. Gold gained around 2.5% last week. On the economic data front, US nonfarm payrolls rose by 73,000 in July, well below expectations of 110,000. The unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.2% in July from 4.1% in June. The labor force participation rate in the US eased to 62.2% in July. The ISM Manufacturing PMI fell to 48 in July from 49 in June, while construction spending in the US fell by 0.4% in June. Earlier this week, the Fed had left the borrowing rates unchanged at 4.25% to 4.50%. The Fed Chair too, in his speech, did not give any signals of a rate cut in September. However, currently, the market is betting that the Fed may finally have to act to cut interest rates in order to support a weak jobs market.

Powered by Commodity Insights