Gold was headed for its first weekly loss in nearly a month on Friday as the safe-haven rally cooled, while traders largely kept to the sidelines ahead of the U.S. non-farm payrolls data due later in the day.
"Gold prices have slipped back due to a reduction in the geopolitical risk premium as the markets get used to the idea of a long slog between Israel and Hamas," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.
"Money is coming out of gold and the U.S. dollar and moving back into risky assets."
Investors focus now shifts to U.S. non-farm payrolls data, due at 1230 GMT, which is expected to show that employers added 180,000 jobs last month.
The jobs report needs to deliver some surprisingly weak figures to weigh further on Treasury yields and push gold prices above the $2,000-per-ounce mark, City Index senior analyst Matt Simpson said.
Persons:
Gold, Michael Hewson, Stocks, Matt Simpson
Organizations:
U.S ., Hamas, CMC Markets, Federal Reserve, Index
Locations:
Moscow, Russia, Israel