Gold falls as commodity index adjustments weigh ahead of US jobs data

Gold fell on Friday as commodity index readjustments and a firm dollar kept ‍the pressure on prices in the near term, with investors positioning ahead of the U.S. non-farm payrolls ⁠data later in the day.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold fell 0.4% to $4,458.10 per ounce as of 0126 GMT. Bullion hit a record high of $4,549.71 on December 26.


* U.S. gold futures for February delivery firmed 0.2% to $4,467.60.

* ‌The U.S. ‌dollar advanced at the start of Asia trade, as traders awaited the release of the latest U.S. jobs report ‌and braced for a U.S. Supreme Court decision on President Donald Trump's use of emergency tariff powers.

* The annual Bloomberg Commodity Index rebalancing - a periodic adjustment of commodity weightings to keep the index aligned with market conditions - begins this week and is expected to maintain pressure on the precious metals market.

* New U.S. unemployment claims rose moderately last week amid a relatively low number of layoffs, while ‌demand for labour remained ‍sluggish, with businesses squeezing more output from their existing workforce.

* Investors, ‍currently expecting at least two Federal Reserve rate cuts this ‌year, are looking to the non-farm payrolls data for monetary policy cues.

* The U.S. Senate voted on Thursday to advance a resolution that would bar Trump from taking further military action against Venezuela without congressional authorisation, even as the president said U.S. "oversight" of Venezuela could last years.

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

* Gold prices could ‍rise to $5,000 an ounce in the first half of 2026 on rising geopolitical risks and debt, HSBC said.

* Meanwhile, Glencore and Rio Tinto ‍said they were ⁠in early buyout talks ⁠that could potentially create the world's largest mining company with a combined market value of nearly $207 billion.

* Spot silver lost 1.5% to $75.71 per ounce after hitting an all-time high of $83.62 on December 29.

* Spot platinum shed 2.9% to $2,202.50 per ounce after scaling a record peak of $2,478.50 last Monday.

* Palladium fell 2.1% to $1,749.25 per ounce.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0130 China PPI YY Dec 0130 China CPI YY Dec

0400 China Overall Comprehensive Risk Q1

0400 Japan Overall Comprehensive Risk Q1

0700 Germany Industrial Output MM Nov

0700 Germany Industrial Production YY SA Nov

1330 US Non-Farm Payrolls Dec

1330 US Unemployment Rate Dec

1330 US Average Earnings YY Dec

1330 US Housing Starts Number Oct

1500 US U Mich Sentiment Prelim Jan.