Gold and other precious metals rose on Thursday after U.S. private payroll data showed job openings fell to a 14-month ‍low in November, reinforcing ‍bets for Federal Reserve rate cuts, though gains were capped by a firmer ​dollar and higher yields.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold added 0.1% to $4,456.98 per ounce as of 0119 GMT. Bullion hit a ⁠record high of $4,549.71 on December 26.

* U.S. gold futures for February delivery also firmed 0.1% to $4,465.70.

* ⁠The dollar ‌held steady near a more than two-week high amid market positioning around several U.S. labour market data releases this week.

* The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield was up ⁠from the one-week low hit on Wednesday.

* U.S. job openings dropped to a 14-month low in November, per JOLTS data, while hiring resumed its sluggish pace, pointing to ebbing demand for labour amid policy uncertainty related to import tariffs.

* Investors currently expect at least ⁠two Fed rate cuts this year, ​while they look to the non-farm payrolls data on Friday for more clues.

* Elsewhere, the U.S. seized two Venezuela-linked oil tankers ‍in the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday, one sailing under Russia's flag, as part of President Donald Trump's aggressive push to ​dictate oil flows in the Americas.

* Non-yielding assets tend to do well in a low-interest-rate environment and during geopolitical or economic uncertainties.

* HSBC, meanwhile, has forecast silver will trade between $58 and $88 an ounce in 2026, driven by tight physical supply, robust investment and high gold prices, but warned of a market correction later in the year as supply constraints ease.

* Spot silver lost 0.7% to $78.70 per ounce, after hitting an all-time high of $83.62 on December 29.

* Spot platinum rose 0.2% to $2,311.55 per ounce, after scaling a record peak of $2,478.50 last Monday.

* Palladium advanced 0.8% ⁠to $1,779.0 per ounce.

(Reporting by Ishaan Arora in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy)