Gold retreats on firm dollar, US payrolls data on tap
ADVERTISEMENT * Spot gold fell 0.7% to $3,265.45 an ounce, as of 0022 GMT. U.S. gold futures lost 1.4% to $3,273.70.
* The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against a basket of others, rose 0.2%, making gold less attractive for other currency holders.
* Trump administration expects to conclude initial tariff deals with some U.S. trading partners within weeks, but negotiations with India are not "finish-line close" and no official talks with China are underway, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Wednesday. * Meanwhile, the U.S. economy contracted for the first time in three years in the first quarter, as businesses rushed to import goods ahead of expected tariffs from the Trump administration.
ADVERTISEMENT * The market now awaits non-farm payrolls report on Friday for more cues on the Fed's monetary policy path. The report is expected to show a slowdown in hiring but no change in the 4.2% unemployment rate. * Non-yielding gold, considered a hedge against global uncertainty and inflation and tends to thrive in a low-interest-rate environment, soared to a record high of $3,500.05 per ounce on April 22.
ADVERTISEMENT * Analysts in a quarterly Reuters poll have forecast an average annual gold price above $3,000 for the first time, with global trade friction and a swing away from the U.S. dollar powering demand. * China's stock and bond markets, foreign exchange and commodity futures markets will be closed from May 1 until May 5 for the Chinese Labour Day holiday.
ADVERTISEMENT * Spot silver rose 0.1% to $32.63 an ounce, platinum fell 0.1% to $965.32 and palladium firmed 0.1% to $938.85.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0030 Japan JibunBK Mfg PMI Final SA Apr 0830 UK S&P GLOBAL MANUFACTURING PMI Apr 1230 US Initial Jobless Clm 26 Apr, w/e 1345 US S&P Global Mfg PMI Final Apr 1400 US ISM Manufacturing PMI Apr 1430 US EIA-Nat Gas Chg Bcf, Nat Gas-EIA Implied Flow 25 Apr.
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