Gold prices fell during Asian trading on Friday, as robust U.S. labor market data fueled a recovery in risk appetite and reduced demand for the safe-haven metal. This shift is putting gold on track for minor weekly losses.
Spot gold dropped 0.4% to $2,419.23 per ounce, while December gold futures fell 0.2% to $2,459.10 per ounce by 01:40 ET (05:40 GMT).
Gold prices are poised to end the week slightly lower, retreating from near record highs reached last week amid heightened recession fears that had driven safe-haven demand. However, as concerns about a severe economic slowdown eased, especially following strong labor market data, gold’s appeal as a safe haven diminished.
The better-than-expected jobless claims report released on Thursday contributed to a significant rebound in risk-driven assets like stocks, further pressuring gold prices. Despite this, gold’s decline was cushioned by ongoing investor expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts in September, which would lower the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding metal.
Other precious metals also faced declines on Friday and were on track for weekly losses. Platinum futures fell 0.1% to $941.20 per ounce, while silver futures dropped 0.3% to $27.535 per ounce.
In the industrial metals sector, copper prices benefited from improved risk sentiment and positive inflation data from top importer China. Benchmark copper futures on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.8% to $8,896.50 per ton, and one-month copper futures increased by 0.8% to $4.0150 per pound.
Despite these gains, copper was still set for a rough week, with prices down about 2% and nearing four-month lows. Positive inflation data from China, including higher-than-expected consumer price index inflation for July and a smaller-than-anticipated decline in producer price index inflation, bolstered sentiment. However, this was tempered by data showing a second consecutive month of reduced copper imports into China in July.
