London, England - Gold is poised for the first two-week decline since October before data expected to show that American employers added more than 200 000 jobs in January.
Strength in the US economy is backing the case for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates, curbing gold’s appeal because the metal generally gives investors returns only through price gains. Bullion for immediate delivery was little changed at $1 265.22 an ounce by 11:30am in London, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. The metal dropped 1.5 percent this week, the most since December.
Societe Generale SA analyst Robin Bhar said: “Some investors are selling out of gold ahead of the release of the big jobs number today,”
INVESTOR CONCERNS
The metal is still up 6.8 percent this year amid concern about austerity measures in Greece and as central banks in Europe and Asia announce more stimulus to bolster economic growth. Investors have added to bullion holdings in exchange-traded funds for the past month, bringing assets to the highest level since October.
Data compiled by Bloomberg showed that ETP holdings has risen 6.2 metric tons to 1676.9 tons as of Thursday; having jumped 5.1 percent since reaching the lowest since 2009 in January.
Futures for April delivery rose 0.2 percent to $1264.60 on the Comex in New York on Friday. Bloomberg data showed price swings over 100 days at 17.4, near the highest since March 2014.
Silver and platinum were little changed in London, while palladium added 0.3 percent to $795.63 an ounce. The metal is up 2.9 percent for the week, the most since November 2014.
Bloomberg