Gold retreats on lower expectations for rate cuts in US

Gold futures prices declined after a strong US jobs report dampened expectations of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

Today, gold futures for August delivery eased 0.35%, or $10.90, to $3,335.70 per ounce.

Meanwhile, spot gold prices rose by 0.15%, or $4.78, to $3,315.20 per ounce as of 8:57 a.m. Mecca time.

The US dollar index—which measures the performance of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies—fell by 0.2% to 99 points after earlier touching 98.95.

While July silver futures rose by 0.25% to $36.24 per ounce, spot palladium prices fell by around 0.15% to $1,049.66. In contrast, spot platinum prices rose by 2.3% to $1,195.35.

Investors have scaled back their bets on rate cuts this year to just one cut in October, down from two previously expected, after the US economy added more jobs than anticipated in May, according to Reuters.

Markets are now awaiting the release of US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data on June 11 for further insight into the outlook for monetary policy.