Gold prices held steady on Monday, as the U.S. dollar mildly weakened after broadly strengthening thanks to Friday’s upbeat U.S. nonfarm payrolls report.
Comex gold futures were little changed at $1,323.1 a troy ounce by 03:00 a.m. ET (07:00 GMT).
The dollar initially strengthened after the Labor Department reported on Friday that the U.S. economy added 313,000 jobs last month, beating economists’ forecasts of 200,000. It was the largest monthly increase in one-and-a-half years.
However the report also showed that average hourly earnings rose by just 0.1% in February for an annual rate of 2.6%, down from 2.8% in January.
The slowdown in wage growth dampened expectations for four rate hikes by the Federal Reserve this year.
The dollar also regained som ground after the White House said late last week that key U.S. trading partners Canada and Mexico would be exempt from its highly criticized tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.11% at 90.01, off Friday’s one-week high of 90.36.
Gold is sensitive to moves in the dollar. A weaker dollar makes gold less expensive for holders of foreign currency.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver futures fell 0.26% to $16.57 a troy ounce.
