Market News

(Bloomberg) — Gold (GC=F) eased after a five-day gain, as investors waited for a raft of US data this week that should offer clues on the Federal Reserve’s appetite for further interest-rate cuts.

Bullion traded near $4,280 an ounce, about $100 shy of a record high set in October. The Fed reduced borrowing costs again last week, but policymakers have since offered conflicting views over the need for more rate cuts in 2026.

“Repeated profit-taking near the October highs has kept the move choppy, but it also shows buyers are stepping back in quickly on every dip,” said Hebe Chen, a senior market analyst at Vantage Markets in Melbourne. “For now, the presence of sellers crowded near all-time highs looks less like fading conviction and more like healthy consolidation.”

US economic readings this week will go some way to filling a data void created by the recent government shutdown. Delayed monthly employment numbers are due on Tuesday, with economists projecting a 50,000 increase in payrolls and a 4.5% unemployment rate — consistent with a sluggish, but not rapidly deteriorating, labor market.

Even moderate weakness in US non-farm payroll numbers would bolster the case for more rate cuts, Morgan Stanley strategist Michael Wilson said in a note. Lower rates are typically a positive for gold, which doesn’t pay interest. Several Fed officials are expected to speak throughout the week and inflation numbers are due Thursday.

Gold has surged more than 60% this year and silver has more than doubled, with both metals on track for their best annual performances since 1979. The scorching rallies have been underpinned by elevated central-bank buying and inflows into gold-backed exchange traded funds, in which holdings have risen every month this year except May, according to the World Gold Council.