Gold ends lower on profit-taking pressure

February gold futures fell 0.75% to $4,462.5 an ounce

Gold prices ended lower on Wednesday, pressured by investor profit-taking after strong gains earlier this year and ahead of the release of US labor market data later this week.

At the close, February gold futures fell 0.75%, or $33.6, to $4,462.5 an ounce.

The losses came despite relative stability in the dollar index, which measures the US currency against a basket of six major peers, hovering at 98.68 at 11:21 p.m. Mecca time.

According to ADP data released on Wednesday, the US private sector added 41,000 jobs in December, below Dow Jones analysts’ expectations of 48,000.

Separate data showed US job openings fell by 303,000 to 7.146 million at the end of November. Markets are now awaiting the monthly US jobs report due on Friday.

Elsewhere, the People’s Bank of China continued to add to its gold reserves for a 14th straight month, with holdings rising to 74.15 million ounces at the end of December, up from 74.12 million ounces in November.

Meanwhile, data from the World Gold Council showed that global central banks added a net 45 tones to their official reserves in November, bringing total reported purchases worldwide to 297 tons since the start of 2025.