Gold prices steadied on Monday, consolidating gains from the previous session, as markets bet on interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve following unexpectedly weak U.S. employment data.
By 05:00 ET (09:00 GMT), spot gold dipped slightly by 0.1% to $3,358.72 an ounce, while December gold futures climbed 0.4% to $3,412.55 per ounce.
Gold boosted by weaker labor figures
The yellow metal soared over 2% on Friday, snapping a two-week losing streak and finishing the week in positive territory. The rally was triggered by U.S. nonfarm payroll data showing a mere 73,000 jobs added in July—far below analysts’ expectations—and downward revisions to job gains in May and June.
The unemployment rate edged higher to 4.2%, stoking concerns about a cooling labor market and reinforcing investor expectations for monetary easing.
Markets now see a nearly 90% chance of the Fed cutting interest rates in September. Rate cuts typically enhance gold’s appeal by lowering the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding asset.
Geopolitical tension underpins gold’s safe-haven status
Gold also found support from rising global uncertainty after President Trump implemented new tariffs on imports from several countries, including Canada, Brazil, India, and Taiwan.
These broad trade measures have fueled inflation worries and increased the risk of supply chain disruptions—factors that often drive investors toward safe-haven assets like gold.
Gold remains favored in an environment defined by low yields and policy ambiguity.
Mixed performance in other metals markets
In other precious metals, platinum futures rose 1% to $1,329.50 an ounce, and silver futures climbed 1.3% to $37.417 per ounce.
Copper prices saw modest gains on Monday, with London Metal Exchange benchmark contracts rising 0.9% to $9,726.10 per ton. U.S. copper futures were up 0.8% to $4.4695 per pound.
However, the U.S. copper market remains under pressure following a steep 20% plunge last week. The decline followed President Trump’s decision to exclude refined copper from a planned 50% import tariff.
“The collapse of an arbitrage trade has left the U.S. with a huge buildup of copper stockpiles,” ING analysts said in a note. “Copper inventories at Comex warehouses are at their highest in 21 years. That stockpile might now be re-exported.”
“This will be bearish for LME prices with more copper showing up in LME warehouses,” they added.
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