ADP national employment report misses expectations

January nonfarm payrolls report to be released on February 11

Silver up over 28% this year

Feb 4 – Gold prices reversed course and slipped on Wednesday, as the dollar strengthened and investors booked profits after recent gains, while awaiting U.S. jobs data and assessing geopolitical developments for fresh cues.

Spot gold was down 0.3% at $4,924.89 per ounce, as of 01:31 p.m. ET after rising as much as 3.1% earlier in the session. Prices rose 5.9% rise on Tuesday.

U.S. gold futures for April delivery settled 0.3% higher at $4,950.80 per ounce.

U.S. dollar index hovered at more than one-week high level, making greenback-priced bullion more expensive for overseas buyers.

“We did see a turnaround in the dollar, and that strength put some pressure on gold,” said David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures, adding that the market remains in a profit-taking pullback from record highs and that the consolidation “is not quite over yet.”

Bullion slid more than 13% on Friday and Monday, its steepest two-day sell-off in decades, after hitting a record high of $5,594.82 on January 29.

On the geopolitical front, Iran and the United States are set to hold talks on Friday, while U.S. President Donald Trump held wide-ranging discussions with China’s Xi Jinping ahead of an expected visit to China in April, following Xi’s virtual meeting with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

U.S. private job growth undershot expectations, with ADP data showing just 22,000 jobs added in January versus forecasts of 48,000.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said the January employment report will be released on Feb. 11. The report had been postponed because of a temporary U.S. government shutdown, which ended on Tuesday.

Investors currently expect at least two rate cuts in 2026.

Non-yielding bullion tends to perform better in low-interest-rate environments.

Goldman Sachs continues to see upside risk to its $5,400/oz gold forecast for December 2026, with further private-sector demand a potential upside surprise.

Meanwhile, spot silver rose 1.3% to $86.08 an ounce on Wednesday. The white metal hit a month-low of $71.33 on Monday following a record high of $121.64 on Thursday last week, and up over 20% so far this year.

Spot platinum added 0.6% to $2,221.76 per ounce, while palladium gained 1.3% to $1,756.18.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.