Gold eases as investors await US payroll data for Fed policy clues

Gold appears to be consolidating at present within $3,320 to $3,360 range. (Courtesy: Bloomberg photo)

Gold fell on Thursday as investors held back from making significant bets, awaiting the US payroll data later in the day for insights into the Federal Reserve's policy direction.

Spot gold lost 0.3% to $3,346.47 per ounce, as of 0211 GMT, while US gold futures edged down 0.1% to $3,357.20.

Gold appears to be consolidating at present within $3,320 to $3,360 range, with the market adopting a wait-and-see approach ahead of US Non-Farm Payroll and ISM Services PMI data, rather than taking significant positions, OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong said.

Data released by ADP showed US private payrolls dropped by 33,000 jobs in June, marking the first decline in more than two years, as economic uncertainty hampered hiring. Meanwhile, low layoffs continued to anchor the labour market.

Investors are now awaiting the non-farm payrolls report on Thursday, which is expected to show an addition of 110,000 jobs in June, down from 139,000 in May, according to a Reuters poll.

Meanwhile, the US will impose a lower-than-promised 20% tariff on various goods from Vietnam, President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday. The Southeast Asian nation is the US' tenth-largest trading partner.

"The Vietnam trade deal has likely already been priced into the market, and I think the primary concern now is the status of other deals with major economies that are still in the limbo," Wong said.

The US and India negotiators pushed to finalise a tariff-reducing deal ahead of Trump's July 9 deadline.

Trump has indicated no signs of extending the negotiation deadline despite stalled discussions with Japan, another key trade partner, but expressed optimism about an India deal.

Non-yielding gold tends to perform well during economic uncertainty and in a low-interest-rate environment.

Spot silver fell 0.6% to $36.37 per ounce, platinum lost 1.5% to $1,397.91 and palladium shed 1.4% to $1,138.73.