Gold Plunges for 3rd Straight Week as Economic Hopes Rise - InvestingChannel

Gold Plunges for 3rd Straight Week as Economic Hopes Rise

Gold eased ahead of a highly awaited U.S. jobs report on Friday as markets pinned hopes on an economic recovery, putting the shiny yellow metal on track for a third consecutive weekly decline.

Spot gold was down 0.2% at $1,706.91 U.S. per ounce early Friday morning. U.S. gold futures slid 0.7% to $1,714.50 U.S.

Bullion has declined about 0.8% so far this week, which could be its biggest fall since the week ending May 1.

Investors now wait for the U.S. non-farm payrolls data for May due around 8:30 a.m. EDT, which is likely to show payrolls falling by eight million after a record 20.537-million-job plunge in April.

Gold seems ready to climb higher, as the dollar is weakening, trade tensions are here to stay, there are risks of a second coronavirus wave, and the European Central Bank (ECB) showing it can still surprise markets.

The ECB on Thursday approved a larger-than-expected expansion of its stimulus package.

More stimulus and lower interest rates tend to benefit gold, which is often seen as a hedge against inflation.

In other metals, palladium rose 0.3% to $1,938.99 U.S. per ounce, and platinum climbed 0.2% to $838.37 U.S.

Silver was down 0.4% to $17.66 U.S., and was set for its first weekly decline in five.