Gold was fairly steady overnight, trading either side of unchanged in a range of $1308.65 - $1314.45 and awaiting the release of the US Payroll Report this morning.
It traded up to its high during early Asian hours as it faded some early dollar weakness (DX to 92.36) which was pressured by some strength in the yen (109.24 – 108.92).
During European time, gold drifted lower as the dollar rebounded (DX to 92.62), boosted by a softer euro ($1.1996 - $1.1955, miss on Eurozone PMI’s).
A tick down in the US 10-year bond yield was supportive for gold while global equities were mixed. The NIKKEI was closed, the SCI slipped 0.3%, Eurozone shares ranged from -0.1% to +0.4%, and S&P futures were off 0.2%. News that US – China trade talks ended with no deals and no date set for further talks weighed on stocks, but was countered by news from Berkshire that they bought 75M shares of Apple in Q1.
Firmer oil prices were a tailwind for stocks with WTI up to $68.86 on continuing concerns US reinstating sanctions on Iran.
At 8:30 AM, the US Payroll Report was mixed. While Non-Farm Payrolls were less than expected (164k vs. exp. 192k), the last two months were revised up by 30k.
The Unemployment Rate ticked down (3.9% vs. exp. 4.0%, 18-year low), but Average Hourly Earnings were off a bit (0.15% vs. exp. 0.2%). Initially, the bond yield (2.911% - fresh 2-week low), S&P futures (-14 to 2614) and the DX (92.36) slipped sharply from the algorithms picking up the lower NFP.
Gold rallied in response, and took out its overnight high to reach $1315.35.
At 9AM, Eurozone Retail Sales were much lower than expected (0.1% vs. exp. 0.5%), and...