Overview
- Spot gold traded near $4,062 an ounce early Friday and was set for a weekly decline as the delayed September U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose 119,000 versus roughly 50,000 expected.
- Rate-cut probability for December fell to about 39–40% and the Dollar Index hovered around 100, reinforcing headwinds for non-yielding bullion.
- FOMC minutes from October underscored caution on further easing, with officials divided and Chair Jerome Powell saying a December cut is not a foregone conclusion.
- After a midweek rebound driven by value buying ahead of the minutes and jobs data, futures in India (MCX) and global prices turned lower once the prints landed.
- Domestic markets reflected the volatility, with Pakistan’s per-tola rate swinging to Rs 426,562 on Friday and Indian prices easing, even as analysts cited Chinese physical demand and central-bank buying as buffers against deeper corrections.