Gold prices held steady above the US$5,000 mark during Wednesday's Asian deals, though gains remained capped as investors turned cautious ahead of the delayed release of the United States nonfarm payrolls (NFP) report.
By 3:15 pm AEDT (4:15 am GMT), spot gold was up 0.7% at US$5,058.81 per ounce.
The precious metal appears to be positioning for a more sustained move higher, with traders awaiting the January jobs report, which was postponed due to a four-day government shutdown that concluded last week.
ANZ analysts commented in a note to clients: "With speculative positioning now largely washed out of the market, traders are looking for the next catalyst for another run higher.
“Weak economic data in the U.S. prompted some buying. This lifted U.S. Treasuries as the softer U.S. data reinforced the case for Fed cuts.”
In addition to the monthly payrolls data, markets will also receive the final benchmark revision to the annual NFP figures on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT). The revision is expected to draw particular scrutiny as investors weigh the balance between employment trends and inflation pressures.
Attention will then shift to the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) report due on Friday (Saturday AEDT).
Markets are anticipatgin headline nonfarm payrolls to rise by 70,000 in January, following a gain of 50,000 jobs in December.
The unemployment rate is forecast to remain at 4.4% over the same period and may carry less market impact unless it deviates materially from expectations.
