Gold was little changed ahead of the US jobs report

WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) – Gold prices remained little changed near record levels on Friday as investors await the release of the all-important US jobs report later in the day for additional clues on the Fed’s interest rate trajectory.

Spot gold rose 0.1 percent to $2,658.52 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures were marginally lower at $2,678.20.

Economists currently expect the report to show that employment rose by 140,000 jobs in September, following an increase of 142,000 jobs in August. Unemployment is expected to remain at 4.2 percent.

CME Group’s FedWatch Tool currently shows a 65.4 percent chance that the Fed will cut rates by a quarter point and a 34.6 percent chance of another half-point rate cut in November.

The dollar was poised for its biggest weekly gain since April, reflecting safe-haven demand fueled by fears of escalating tensions in the Middle East.

Israel carried out a series of massive airstrikes overnight in Beirut’s southern suburbs and another that cut off the main border crossing between Lebanon and Syria.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said today that the US and its allies were maintaining Israel’s security to make it an energy-exporting gateway from the region to the West, but the resistance in the region has not would retreat against Israel.

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