PHOTO
Gold and silver rebounded on bargain-hunting on Friday after sliding to one-week lows in the previous session, with a break below key supports deepening losses as selling pressure intensified after strong U.S. jobs data curbed rate-cut bets.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was up 1% at $4,966.83 per ounce by 0127 GMT after falling more than 3% in the previous session to a near one-week low below the key $5,000 level.
* U.S. gold futures for April delivery gained 0.7% to $4,985.40 per ounce.
* Spot silver rose 2.1% to $76.76 per ounce, after a 11% drop on Wednesday.
* The U.S. dollar was mostly flat against peer currencies on Thursday, holding steady after mixed signals from the latest release of U.S. economic indicators.
A stronger dollar makes greenback-priced metals more expensive for holders of other currencies.
* Data released on Wednesday showed the U.S. job market began 2026 on firmer footing than expected, reinforcing the view that policymakers may keep rates elevated for longer.
* Nonfarm payrolls rose by 130,000 jobs in January, following a downwardly revised 48,000 increase in December, while the unemployment rate edged down to 4.3%.
* Initial jobless claims fell to 227,000 in the week ended February 7, data showed on Thursday.
* Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve's current monetary-policy setting threatens U.S. economic growth that otherwise is being "underwritten" by a range of Trump administration policies, including tax cuts, Fed Governor Stephen Miran said on Thursday as he again laid out the case for more interest-rate cuts.
* Investors now await inflation data due later in the day for more cues on the Fed's monetary policy path.
* Spot platinum added 1.7% to $2,033.15 per ounce, while palladium rose 1.4% to $1,639.99.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 1000 EU Total Trade Balance SA Dec 1000 EU GDP Flash Estimate QQ, YY Q4 1330 US Core CPI MM, SA Jan 1330 US Core CPI YY, NSA Jan 1330 US CPI MM, SA Jan 1330 US CPI YY, NSA Jan 1330 US CPI Wage Earner Jan (Reporting by Ishaan Arora; Editing by Rashmi AIch)
