Gold fell sharply on Thursday, breaking below $5,000 per ounce after U.S. labour data reinforced the case for higher-for-longer interest rates. The drop accelerated as stop-loss orders were triggered under the round-number threshold, sending prices to a near one-week low. Spot gold was last down 2.7% at $4,941.47 by 11:50 a.m. ET (16:50 GMT), while U.S. futures slid to $4,962.10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fresh figures showed a firm U.S. job market. January nonfarm payrolls rose by 130,000 after a downwardly revised 48,000 in December, and the unemployment rate edged down to 4.3%. Weekly jobless claims fell to 227,000 for the period ended February 7. Strong employment reduces the urgency for the Federal Reserve to cut rates, which weighs on non-yielding bullion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to analyst Fawad Razaqzada of City Index and FOREX.com, prior volatility likely left many stop orders clustered just below $5,000 and above $5,100. The breach set off \u201ccascading-like\u201d selling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The $5,000 handle has been a psychological pivot this year as prices tested record territory. Just yesterday, spot gold traded above $5,100 before easing. Today\u2019s drop follows a volatile fortnight in which bullion repeatedly crossed that line amid shifting rate expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Investors now turn to Friday\u2019s U.S. CPI report. Some desks expect headline inflation to slow toward 2.5% year-on-year. A softer print could revive near-term rate-cut bets and support gold, said Peter Grant of Zaner Metals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Silver tumbled 10.2% to $75.42 per ounce. Platinum fell 6.1% to $2,001.79, while palladium lost 3.9% to $1,634.14. Moves across the complex reflected a stronger dollar and risk reduction into macro data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In sum, resilient U.S. labour readings firmed the rates outlook and flipped momentum below a critical round number, leaving gold on the defensive ahead of inflation data<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gold fell sharply on Thursday, breaking below $5,000 per ounce after U.S. labour data reinforced the case for higher-for-longer interest rates. The drop accelerated as stop-loss orders were triggered under the round-number threshold, sending prices to a near one-week low. Spot gold was last down 2.7% at $4,941.47 by 11:50 a.m. ET (16:50 GMT), while […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3508,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-5"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\n