Gold prices fell during trading today, Monday, January 8th, after the release of mixed economic data at the end of last week.
Investors are currently looking for evidence about the course of monetary policy by the Federal Reserve in the coming period, and about the date of starting to reduce interest rates.
On Friday, economic data showed that the US economy added 216,000 jobs in December, a level higher than the downwardly revised 173,000 jobs in November, and against expectations of adding 168,000 jobs.
But on the other hand, separate economic data showed on the same day that the US ISM Services Purchasing Managers' Index in December fell by 2.1 points, to 50.6 points, compared to last November's reading of 52.7 points.
Attention is currently turning to inflation data in America for last month, which is scheduled to be released on Thursday.
This data would contribute to determining the Fed’s compass for the coming period, and according to the CME tool that measures market expectations regarding the path of the interest rate, the markets currently see a 64% probability of reducing interest at the next March meeting, compared to levels of 90% before the beginning of the new year.
In terms of trading, gold futures fell by about 0.4% to $2,042 per ounce.
The decline in gold coincided with the dollar recording its best weekly performance since last July, making the yellow metal expensive for holders of other currencies.
