Gold bounces back from near one-week low; US inflation data in focus

Gold dropped about 3% to a near one-week low on Thursday, breaking below the $5,000-an-ounce key support as selling pressure intensified after an equities rout.

• Gold rebounds 0.6% after hitting a one-week low Thursday
• Investors await US inflation data for Fed rate cut signals
• Gold demand in India dips, while China sees strong buying

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Gold rebounded on Friday, recovering from a nearly one-week low in the previous session, as investors awaited key U.S. inflation figures for cues on the direction of interest rates following robust jobs data that tempered rate cut expectations.

Spot gold was up 0.6% at $4,949.99 per ounce as of 0626 GMT, but has lost 0.2% so far this week. U.S. gold futures for April delivery climbed 0.4% to $4,968.0 per ounce.

"With volatilities as heightened as they are and these big round levels offering, you know, sort of indicators of where positioning might be, big breaks certainly accelerate these moves," Capital.com senior market analyst Kyle Rodda said.

Gold dropped about 3% to a near one-week low on Thursday, breaking below the $5,000-an-ounce key support as selling pressure intensified after an equities rout.

"Precious metals came down with equities last night. They didn't really have much of a macro catalyst," Rodda added.

Asian shares retreated from record highs on Friday as worries about shrinking margins in the tech sector hit the likes of Apple. [MKTS/GLOB]

The yellow metal also come under pressure after data released on Wednesday showed the U.S. job market began 2026 on firmer footing than expected, reinforcing the view that policymakers may keep rates elevated for longer.

Investors now await inflation data, due later in the day, for more cues on the Fed's monetary policy path, with two 25-basis-point cuts currently priced in this year, the first of those expected in June. Non-yielding bullion tends to do well in low-interest-rate environments. [FEDWATCH]

Elsewhere, gold flipped to a discount in India this week for the first time in a month on subdued demand as volatile prices deterred buying, while the China market saw robust demand as it heads into the Lunar New Year celebrations. [GOL/AS]

Spot silver climbed 1.5% to $76.31 per ounce, rebounding from an 11% drop on Thursday, though it remained on track for a weekly loss of 2.1%.

Spot platinum added 0.9% to $2,018.44 per ounce, while palladium rose 2.2% to $1,652.31. Both metals were set to notch weekly losses.