Gold Extends Losses After Powell’s Comments

Published: 2/5/2024 5:20 AM ET | 

Gold prices fell notably on Monday, extending losses for a second straight session as the dollar and bond yields rose amid much uncertainty about the Federal Reserve’s monetary path this year.

Spot gold dipped 0.8 percent to $2,023.51 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were down 0.7 percent at 2,039.35.

The dollar hit a two-month high after U.S. data released on Friday showed much stronger than expected job growth in January and an improvement in consumer sentiment.

The U.S. economy added 353,000 jobs in January, much higher than expectations for an increase of about 180,000 jobs.

Job growth for December was revised higher and the jobless rate came in unchanged at 3.7 percent in January, prompting investors to scale back their expectations for interest-rate cuts this year.

U.S. Treasury yields also climbed after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell made it clear during a “60 Minutes” interview aired on Sunday night that policymakers will wait to see continued progress toward cooler price increases before cutting interest rates.

The U.S. economic calendar for this week is relatively quiet, with traders likely to keep an eye on reports on weekly jobless claims, service sector activity and the U.S. trade deficit.