Khaberni - Gold dipped slightly on Wednesday, with the dollar rising after the U.S. jobs report indicated a stronger-than-expected labor market, putting pressure on prices ahead of the widely anticipated Federal Reserve meeting expected to cut interest rates.
The price of gold in spot transactions dropped 0.1% to $4207.39 per ounce at 01:02 GMT.
The U.S. futures contracts for gold delivery in February remained steady at $4236.60 per ounce.
The dollar rose on Tuesday to its highest level in nearly a week, as better-than-expected employment figures reaffirmed the strength of the labor market prior to the central bank meeting.
U.S. Treasury yields for 10-year benchmark notes rose on Tuesday, surpassing previous downturns, to settle at the highest level in two and a half months recorded on Monday.
The U.S. Department of Labor issued a report showing available job opportunities rose to 7.67 million in October, exceeding expectations of 7.15 million jobs, indicating labor market strength.
In the meantime, White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett, the prime candidate for the Federal Reserve Chair position to the CEOs council in a Wall Street Journal article on Tuesday, said there is "broad scope" for further interest rate cuts. However, he added that if inflation rises, calculations might change.
The two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting concludes with an interest rate decision on Wednesday. Investors anticipate an 88.6% probability of a 25 basis point rate cut.
Assets that yield no return, such as gold, tend to rise under decreasing interest rates.
Regarding other precious metals, the price of silver in spot transactions rose 0.5% to its highest ever at $61.02 per ounce, after surpassing the $60 threshold on Tuesday.
The price of platinum fell 1% to $1672.70, and the price of palladium dropped by the same percentage to $1491.0
