Gold futures for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 0.4% at $1,225.20 a troy ounce by 1:20 AM ET (05:20 GMT).
The U.S. dollar index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies inched down 0.1% to 96.70. The dollar traded near 16-month highs on Wednesday after data showed the private payrolls grew by 227,000 for the month, above the 218,000 seen in September and economists’ forecasts of 189,000.
Gold posted a 2% gain for October, its highest since January. Just last week, it was headed for a monthly gain of nearly 4%.
Despite last month’s gain, Gold prices have slipped about 11% from their April peak as investors turned to the dollar as a safe-haven amid escalating trade concerns between the U.S. and China. Early bets for a widely-expected Federal Reserve rate hike in December, which would be the fourth for the U.S. this year, also buffeted the dollar at gold’s expense.
• Indian gold demand in 2018 is expected to fall from the previous year as a rally in local prices to five-year highs is likely to dent purchases during key festivals in the December quarter, the World Gold Council (WGC) said on Thursday.
A fall in demand from the world’s second-biggest bullion buyer could weigh on global prices that are already down 6.5 percent so far this year. But lower imports could also help the South Asian country reduce its trade deficit and support a weak rupee, which hit a record low last month.
Reference: Reuters, Investing
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