Gold prices hit seven-week highs after a weaker-than-expected US labour report led markets to anticipate delayed tightening from the Federal Reserve, boosting bullion and pushing equities higher.
Gold surged on Friday after a weak US labour-market report jolted expectations for the Federal Reserve’s next move and sent investors back into bullion. Spot gold jumped $101.40, or 2.39%, to $4,343.30 an ounce in New York, its highest level in about seven weeks, while silver also rallied sharply. December gold futures on COMEX rose 2.3% to $4,399.70 an ounce, putting the market within reach of the $4,400 threshold as traders priced in a softer policy outlook. According to AP, US stocks also rose after the same jobs data, underscoring how quickly markets shifted towards the view that the Fed may wait longer before tightening further.
The catalyst was a far weaker-than-expected non-farm payrolls report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The US economy shed 23,000 jobs in July, while June hiring was revised down sharply, and Reuters had polled economists who had expected a gain of 80,000 jobs. Brent Wilsey, chief investment officer at Wilsey Asset Management, told Reuters the report showed not only a miss on expectations but also evidence that the economy had already lost jobs earlier in the year, leaving the Fed in a difficult position because inflation remains sticky.
Treasury yields fell and the dollar weakened after the release, adding further support for precious metals. The Dollar Index ended the session down 0.33% at 99.6, while the 10-year Treasury yield slipped more than 3 basis points to 4.639% and the two-year yield fell more than 5 basis points to 4.193%. MarketWatch data showed the dollar had also lost more than 1.3% over the past month. AP reported that Wall Street responded by pushing the S&P 500 to a record high, a sign that investors interpreted the data as reducing the odds of another near-term rate increase.
The move extended a strong week for gold, which rose more than 7% and posted its biggest weekly gain since the week ending January 19, 2026. The SPDR Gold Trust added 2.8 tonnes on Friday, taking its holdings to 1,017.5 tonnes, and bought 10.5 tonnes over the week. UBS has taken an even more bullish longer-term view, forecasting gold could reach $5,000 an ounce in the first half of 2027, while saying pullbacks towards $4,000 could offer strategic buying opportunities. In local terms, the week-end price translated to about 138.2 million dong per tael, up nearly 9 million dong from the previous week, according to the Vietnamese report.
Disclaimer: This article is intended to inform and educate, not to recommend or endorse any financial product, investment or strategy. Please consider your own financial circumstances and seek professional advice where appropriate before making financial decisions.
