- Dollar slips from two-week high
- Investor focus shifts to US non-farm payroll on Friday
- Spot gold may bounce into $2,033-$2,039/oz range - technicals
Dec 6 (Reuters) - Gold prices rose on Wednesday as the dollar eased and weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data cemented expectations that the Federal Reserve's policy tightening cycle has come to an end.
Spot gold rose 0.7% to $2,034.09 per ounce by 0817 GMT. U.S. gold futures rose 0.8% to $2,051.50.
"Volatility in gold prices is likely to remain capped heading into Friday's U.S. non-farm payrolls data," said Matt Simpson, senior analyst at City Index.
"It might take a particularly weak set of numbers for gold to post strong gains from here – as many bullish fingers were likely burned with gold's false break to a record high."
Bullion climbed to a record high of $2,135.40 on Monday on elevated bets for a Fed rate cut, before dropping more than $100 in the same session, due to uncertainty over the timing of the monetary policy easing.
Data on Tuesday showed U.S. job openings fell to a more than two-and-a-half-year low in October, signalling that higher rates were dampening demand for workers.
The dollar index fell 0.1% against a basket of currencies after rising to a two-week high on Tuesday, making gold less expensive for other currency holders.
Focus now shifts to the Friday release of the November U.S. non-farm payrolls data that could provide more clues on the interest rate outlook ahead of the Fed's policy meeting next week.
Traders are pricing in about a 60% chance of a rate cut by March next year, CME's FedWatch Tool shows. Lower interest rates tend to support non-interest-bearing bullion.
Spot gold may bounce into a range of $2,033-$2,039 per ounce, as it has stabilized around a support of $2,009, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.
Silver rose 0.6% to $24.26 per ounce, while platinum gained 0.3% to $901.93. Palladium rose 0.9% to $942.96 after hitting an over five-year low on Tuesday.
Reporting by Harshit Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Mrigank Dhaniwala
Source: Reuters