INV: Gold slides below $1,210 after blowout ADP report
Investing.com - Gold prices extended overnight losses during North American morning hours on Wednesday, reaching the lowest level since early February after data showed companies in the U.S. added jobs at a blistering pace in February.
Comex gold futures touched a session low of $1,208.50 a troy ounce, its weakest since February 3. It was last at $1,209.65 by 8:30AM ET (13:30GMT), down $6.75, or about 0.5%.
Spot gold was down $6.00 at $1,209.90 per ounce.
Payroll processing firm ADP said nonfarm private employment rose by 298,000 payrolls in February, well above forecasts for an increase of 190,000.
The big number could cause economists to adjust their expectations for Friday's key nonfarm payrolls number. The market currently expects the report to show growth of about 190,000 jobs.
The upbeat report added to already strong expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise rates at its upcoming policy meeting next week.
Futures traders are pricing in around a 90% chance of a hike at the Fed's March 14-15 meeting, according to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
The precious metal is sensitive to moves in U.S. rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion, while boosting the dollar in which it is priced.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.3% at 102.09 in New York morning trade, rising back toward last week's two-month high of 102.27.
Treasury yields were also up, with the U.S. 10-Year bond at around 2.565%, a level not seen since December 27.
Also on the Comex, silver futures for May delivery slipped 15.9 cents, or around 0.9%, to $17.37 a troy ounce.
Meanwhile, platinum was down 0.4% to $957.70, while palladium dipped 0.8% to $768.75 an ounce.
Elsewhere in metals trading, copper futures added 1.1 cents, or 0.4%, to $2.630 a pound.
Data from China showed the country recorded a surprise trade deficit in February, its first since 2014, following a surge in imports after the Lunar New Year holiday and a drop in exports.
