Gold was little changed Monday morning but remains within striking distance of its record high set on Friday at $2,195.15 per ounce as investors shift their attention from last week’s employment report to key inflation readings released later this week.

The yellow metal capped off its eighth consecutive day of gains on Friday after the U.S. 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:unemployment rate climbed to its highest level in more than two years, raising hopes that the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Federal Reserve may bring forward its first rate cut this year, which markets currently expect to occur in June.

"We still believe the same underlying premise remains, which is the combination of the expectation that the Fed is still going to cut rates later this year and dollar weakness," David Meger, director at High Ridge Futures told Reuters. Investors typically view rate cuts as bullish for gold as they tend to weaken the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Greenback, making the precious metal cheaper for foreign buyers to purchase and also reduce the opportunity cost of holding bullion compared to interest bearing assets, such as 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:U.S. Treasury bills (T-Bills).

Investors will be looking for more clues on interest rate policy this week when the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Bureau of Labor Statistics releases 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:consumer price index (CPI) data on Tuesday and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:producer price Index (PPI) figures on Thursday, with both economic reports helping to give a read on the current state of inflation. 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Fed officials have said they are looking for more evidence that inflation is under control bef🧸ore cutting the central bank's benchmark interest rate.

Longer-term, 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:gold prices re𓂃main supported by favorable tailwinds, such as ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, macroeconomic uncertainty, and historically elevated levels of inflation. Some analysts believe these factors have led to sovereign buying of the precious metal.

“China is just quietly underpinning the market, adding to the reserves,” Sean Lusk, co-director of commercial hedging at Walsh Trading told precious metals site Kitco. “A lot of 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:central bank buying, not only by them, but by others to prop up their currencies, he added.”

The price of broke out above a year-long 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:trading range this month and has continued to trend sharply higher since. Moreover, the 50-day moving average crossed above the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:200-day moving average in December last year to form a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:golden cross pattern, confirming the current uptrend. It’s worth keeping an eye on the range’s top trendline around $2,080 as potential area of price support during retracements or perioﷺds of profit taking.

Gold was little changed at a🐎round $2,184 at 7:00 a.m. ET Monday.꧟

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