Gold rises ahead of monthly US jobs data

Gold bars

Gold futures rose on Friday, heading for their best weekly performance in three months, aided by expectations of a US interest rate cut this month and ahead of the release of the monthly US job data.

December gold futures added 0.3%, or $10.30, to $3,617 an ounce.

Spot gold also rose by 0.3%, or $11.08, to $3,556.93 an ounce at 08:26 am KSA time.

Meanwhile, the US dollar index slipped 0.2% to 98.14 points.

December silver futures gained 0.35% to $41.56 an ounce, while spot platinum advanced 0.5% to $1,383.80. Similarly, palladium climbed 0.5% to $1,131.38.

According to the FedWatch Tool, the probability of a 25-basis-point rate cut at the Federal Reserve’s Sept. 16–17 meeting rose to 99.3%, up from 86.4% a week earlier.

Markets are now awaiting the release of US nonfarm payrolls (NFP) data later today, with forecasts for the addition of 75,000 jobs in August, up from 73,000 in July, alongside an increase in the unemployment rate to 4.3%.