Gold Rises After Negative NFP, But Investor Support Is Thin
Gold prices strengthened on Friday (March 6), but remained on track for their first weekly decline in five weeks as a stronger dollar and rising US yields offset the geopolitical risk premium from the Middle East war. Spot gold rose 0.4% to US$5,095.78/ounce, while US gold futures rose 0.5% to US$5,105.10.
Although the US-Israel conflict with Iran entered its seventh day and maintained safe-haven demand, surging energy prices also raised inflation concerns and prompted the market to trim expectations for a Fed interest rate cut. In this context, gold fell around 3.4% over the week, although it strengthened on the day of the jobs data release.
US jobs data showed weakness: NFP fell by 92,000 and unemployment rose to 4.4%, which typically supports gold through expectations of lower interest rates. However, the market response was seen as less strong than the classic "flight-to-safety" pattern, as investors also sought dollars and liquidity amid energy volatility and geopolitical risks.
In other precious metals, silver rose daily but remained under pressure for the week, while platinum and palladium trended slightly lower, underscoring the continued influence of the trade-off between risk-off and interest rate repricing.
Source: Newsmaker.id
