Gold futures ended higher Monday, catching some safe-haven as traders were nervous ahead of a busy week for corporate earnings. The yellow metal continues to edge up on Tuesday, extending gains after disappointing jobs data breathed new life into hopes for more monetary stimulus by the Federal Reserve in the U.S.
Spot gold added up 0.2 percent to $1,643.69 an ounce by 0027 GMT. It rose as much as 1 percent to $1,648.5 an ounce in the previous session.
Most major Wall Street firms expect weak growth in the country’s jobs market and a struggling economic recovery to force the Federal Reserve to undertake another massive round of monetary stimulus, according to Reuters poll. Investors and traders are waiting for China trade data due later in the day to gauge the pace of the economic growth in the world’s second-largest economy, after Monday’s data showed an unexpected spike in March inflation. U.S. employers hired far fewer workers in March than in previous months, keeping the door open for the Federal Reserve to provide more monetary support for a still sluggish economy.
Additional support for gold is coming from investors who may have judged recent losses as overdone. The current low interest-rate environment remains positive for gold, but the metal will need to find a firmer footing.
Other precious metals futures were mixed, with some of those more oriented toward industrial production reeling in the wake of the disappointing jobs report.
Silver for May delivery retreated 21 cents, or 0.7%, to $31.52 an ounce, adding to losses during yesterday’s session.
Two key factors to watch in the near term remain holdings in exchange-traded product holdings, as well as consumption in India and China
