Gold prices retreated in Monday's trading session as the dollar strengthened and U.S. Treasury yields rose due to fading expectations of an early interest rate cut in the United States. The dollar index increased by 0.1 percent, making gold more expensive for holders of other currencies, while the benchmark U.S. Treasury yields for the 10-year term exceeded four percent.
Official data revealed that U.S. businesses hired more workers than expected in December. However, separate data from the Institute for Supply Management indicated a significant slowdown in the services sector last month.
Approximately 64 percent of investors now anticipate that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates in March, down from nearly 90 percent before the start of the new year, according to the FedWatch tool by CME Group.
Investors are now eagerly awaiting U.S. Consumer Price Index data, set to be released on Thursday, to gauge expectations regarding the pace of interest rate cuts by the U.S. central bank.
Price Changes:
By 0556 GMT, the price of gold in spot transactions dropped by 0.7 percent to $2030.49 per ounce. Similarly, U.S. gold futures fell by 0.6 percent to $2037.00 per ounce.
Trading was weak in Asia with the Japanese market closed for a holiday As for other precious metals, silver declined by 0.8 percent to $22.97 per ounce in spot transactions. Platinum also dropped by 0.6 percent to $954.13 per ounce. Palladium lost 1.3 percent, reaching $1013.78, marking its tenth consecutive session decline.
