Gold prices strengthen as traders digest recent US jobs data

Gold prices nudged up today, Dec. 6, with the US dollar stabilizing as investors absorbed US jobs data that indicated a slowdown in America's labor market momentum.

Bullion for February delivery climbed by 0.36% to $2,043.70 an ounce at 09:59 am Makkah time, offsetting losses of the previous session which amounted to 0.30%. Spot prices also surged 0.40% to $2,027.52 per ounce.

Similarly, silver futures for March delivery added 0.28% to $24.62 an ounce, with platinum spot prices also up 0.32% to $906.03 per ounce.

Data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, issued on Dec. 5, showed that open job positions declined by 617,000 to 8.73 million vacancies in October — the lowest level since March 2021.

All eyes are on US nonfarm payrolls data, due for release on Dec. 8, seeking more clues about labor market activity and its impact on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decisions.

The US dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against a basket of six major currencies, held ground at 104 points.