Global gold prices rose during these moments of trading on Thursday, ahead of the release of US jobs data that may provide further evidence of the size of the expected interest rate cut this month.
Non-yielding gold tends to perform well when interest rates are low. It is also considered a hedge against economic and political uncertainty.
Data released yesterday showed that job openings in the United States fell to a three-and-a-half-year low in July, indicating that the labor market is losing momentum, but this decline in itself may not be enough to justify a half-percentage-point interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve this month.
San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly said that lowering interest rates is necessary to maintain a healthy labor market.
