NEW YORK – The gold market is seeing the biggest price swings since late 2016 as traders and investors struggled to read when the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates.
Bullion futures settled little changed in New York Monday just days after the metal surged near the highest since 2013 on bets the Fed will lower borrowing costs either at the end of this month or later. The appetite for gold began to wane after data on Friday showed US payrolls topped economists’ estimates, weakening the case for policy makers to reduce rates.
Until Friday, gold had been on a tear since Fed officials last month opened the door to a rate cut, boosting the appeal of the metal that doesn’t pay interest. While the latest jobs data fueled doubts policy makers will reduce borrowing costs this month, President Donald Trump continued to apply pressure on Fed Chair Jerome Powell to do just that, saying the current monetary policy has put the US at a disadvantage versus Europe.
Powell and James Bullard, who was the only dissenting vote in favor of a rate cut at the Fed’s meeting in June, are scheduled to address events this week, potentially providing some clue on the policy makers’ next move.
“Between Friday’s job report and waiting to hear what he has to say tomorrow, gold is kind of in a no man’s land,” Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures in Chicago, said by phone Monday, referring to Powell.