Investing.com — Gold prices rose slightly on Friday, although gains were kept in check by a stronger dollar following a recovery in US job growth in November.
rose 0.2% to $2,637.02 per ounce, while the February term rose 0.40% to $2,637.02 per ounce at 1:30 PM ET (6:30 PM GMT).
On the geopolitical level, the collapse of the French government and a failed attempt to impose martial law in South Korea kept demand for safe havens in play. Tensions also remained high in the Middle East and between Russia and Ukraine.
Strong non-farm payrolls data cannot shake December rate cuts
rose by 227,000 jobs last month, above the expected 202,000, after an upwardly revised gain of 36,000 in October, when the labor market was reeling from Hurricanes Helene and Milton and a major strike at Boeing’s (NYSE:) plants on the West Coast.
The data, which also showed a rise in unemployment, is not expected to stop the Fed from cutting rates for the third time this year when the FOMC meets at its Dec. 17-18 meeting.
The dollar gained even as Treasury yields fell, keeping gains in dollar-denominated commodities such as gold in check.
Other precious metals rose on Friday, but also caused losses in November. rose 0.7% to $933.15 per ounce, while the price rose 0.04% to $31,550 per ounce.
Copper rises on signs of tighter supplies; Data on China awaits
In industrial metals, copper prices were supported by reports that major copper miners had agreed to much lower processing fees through 2025 due to concerns over the availability of copper concentrate on spot markets.
A slew of important Chinese economic figures and events are also scheduled for the coming week. The benchmark on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.1% to $9,105.50 a tonne, while February rose 0.1% to $4.1955 a pound.
Chilis Antofagasta (LON:) and China’s Jiangxi Copper had agreed to significantly reduce copper concentrate processing fees by 2025, Reuters reported. Fees generally tend to decline due to lower concentrate levels in the spot markets, indicating tight supply.
A raft of important economic figures from top import China will be released next week, including inflation and trade data. Next week will also see the Chinese Central Economic Work Conference, which will provide more clues about the economy and stimulus measures.
(Amber Warrick contributed to this story.)
