Gold Quiet Ahead Of Payrolls

Mumbai-India (Dec 6)   Gold futures had a quiet session with the traders on the sidelines ahead of the crucial payrolls data which is mostly expected to give strong signal making the Fed unwind the QE sooner than later.

The dollar edged higher Friday, halting its losses from the day before as markets braced for the release of November’s U.S. jobs report, due later in the day. The ICE dollar index, which tracks the currency against six major rivals, rose modestly to 80.382 from 80.265 late Thursday in North America.

The upward drift for the greenback followed losses on Thursday, when more-hawkish-than-expected comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pushed the euro sharply higher.

The nonfarm payrolls report was slated for 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. The private-sector employers in the U.S. added 215,000 jobs the Automatic Data Processing said, marking the strongest month of hiring in a year. Data stoked expectations for a strong reading from the Labor Department’s November jobs report on Friday.

Ahead of the jobs numbers, most major currency pairs saw muted movement Friday. The Japanese yen slid back lower Friday, with the dollar rising to ¥102.12 from Thursday’s ¥101.72. The euro is buying $1.3658, just below late Thursday’s $1.3665, while the British pound traded at $1.6330, and the Australian dollar was likewise flat at 90.52 U.S. cents.

February delivery gold futures are trading $3.2 at $ 1228.7 per ounce on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

March silver futures are trading down 0.110 at $ 19.46 per ounce after hitting the low of $ 19.31 earlier in the session.

MCX February bullion is quoting at Rs 29119 down nearly Rs 80 per 10 grams. It tumbled to the session low of Rs 29025. The supports are expected near Rs 28950-800 levels.