2 Minutes Read (Recasts, adds comment, updates prices) * Investors await the release of U.S. jobs data at 1230 GMT. * Palladium is expected to rise for the second week in a row. Reuters, July 2 – Concerns about the Delta variation of COVID-19 increased gold’s safe-haven appeal on Friday, as investors awaited a key U.S. jobs report that might provide further light on the Federal Reserve’s next step. By 0904 GMT, spot gold had risen 0.3 percent to $1,781.62 per ounce. Gold futures in the United States rose 0.4 percent to $1,783.30. “There is still ambiguity about when and how much countries would open up,” Xiao Fu, head of commodity market strategy at Bank of China International, said, noting that “new instances in London are increasing at a very quick pace.” The extremely contagious Delta variety has forced Asian and European countries to postpone reopening plans, while the White House announced that special teams will be dispatched to hotspots across the country to tackle the outbreak. “However, if the global economy begins a really solid, seamless, and powerful rebound (assisted by vaccines), gold may face additional headwinds,” Fu noted. According to a Reuters survey, the US non-farm payrolls data is expected to reveal a 690,000 job rise last month at 1230 GMT. This reading is notable in light of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s focus on a healthy labor market while maintaining a low inflation outlook. “A sharper-than-expected gain in employment numbers might put fresh pressure on gold by increasing the likelihood of an earlier Fed rate hike,” Commerzbank wrote in a report. When interest rates rise, non-yielding gold tends to lose favor with investors. Platinum increased 0.6 percent to $1,088.50 per ounce, while silver rose 0.3 percent to $26.09 per ounce. Palladium rose 0.6 percent to $2,779.98, putting it on track for a second weekly rise. (Arundhati Sarkar in Bengaluru contributed reporting; Uttaresh.V edited the piece.)/n
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