Onome Amuge
Gold prices slipped on Thursday, easing back from a record peak as investors took profits ahead of key US labour market data that could sharpen expectations for imminent interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
Spot gold fell 0.5 per cent to $3,541.78 per ounce, while US gold futures for December delivery dropped 1 per cent to $3,600.90. The pullback followed Wednesday’s climb to an all-time high of $3,578.50, driven by growing conviction that the Fed will lower borrowing costs this month against a backdrop of cooling economic momentum and geopolitical unease.
“The market was way overbought and needed to correct. Investors are now pausing to see what the jobs data will reveal about the pace of slowdown,”said Rhona O’Connell, analyst at StoneX.
Attention has turned squarely to incoming labour market figures, including weekly jobless claims and the ADP private payrolls report due later on Thursday, followed by the non-farm payrolls release on Friday. These indicators are expected to offer fresh insight into the Fed’s policy path.
“If the jobless claims are way out of line, then we could see a reaction in prices – down if below expectations, up if high,” O’Connell said.
On Wednesday, the Labor Department reported that US job openings fell more sharply than forecast to 7.18 million in July, reinforcing signs of softening demand for labour. Several Fed officials have pointed to weakening conditions in the jobs market as justification for easing policy.
According to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, markets are now pricing a 98 per cent chance of a 25 basis point rate cut at the Fed’s September meeting.
Gold, which yields no income, tends to benefit when borrowing costs fall, reducing the opportunity cost of holding the metal compared with interest-bearing assets. It has also drawn support from a confluence of economic and geopolitical uncertainties, including US–China trade tensions, sluggish eurozone growth and persistent conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
“Non-yielding gold typically performs well in a low interest-rate environment and in times of uncertainty,” O’Connell noted.
Goldman Sachs analysts said in a note that structural demand shifts could push prices higher still. “Should private investors diversify more heavily into gold, we see potential upside to gold prices well above our $4,000 mid-2026 baseline,” the bank wrote.
Investor nerves have also been heightened by debates over the independence of the Federal Reserve. President Donald Trump’s economic adviser Stephen Miran appeared before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday as lawmakers considered his nomination to the Fed’s seven-member board. Both Democrats and Republicans pressed Miran to commit to political neutrality, reflecting concerns over political influence in monetary policy.
