Gold Slips As Investors Look To US Jobs Report

Gold prices edged lower on Thursday after the minutes from the mid-December meeting showed that Fed officials remained determined to keep rates high despite mounting economic uncertainties.

Spot gold dipped 0.4 percent to $1,847.70 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were down 0.3 percent at $1,853.20.

Data released overnight showed that U.S. job openings, a measure of labor demand, remained elevated in November – running counter to the Fed’s goal of slowing hiring and the economy in order to bring down inflation.

However, a contraction in U.S. manufacturing activity in December indicated that economic growth was slowing.

Investors await economic reports on U.S. weekly jobless claims, private sector employment and trade deficit later today for more direction.

The U.S. ADP private payrolls data for December is scheduled for release at 8:15 am ET while non-farm payrolls data is due on Friday.

The dollar traded roughly flat in choppy trading despite hawkish Fed rhetoric.