Dec 5 (Reuters) – Gold slipped on Tuesday after touching an all-time high in the previous session as the dollar regained its footing and investors refrained from making big bets ahead of key U.S. employment data that could provide more clarity on the path of U.S. interest rates.
Spot gold was down 0.5% at $2,020.29 an ounce by 15:10 ET (2010 GMT). The metal had climbed to a record high of $2,135.40 on Monday before falling over $100 in a single day to close down over 2%.
US gold futures were down 0.3% at $2,036.30.
The momentum that drove gold to a record high on Monday may fizzle out in the short term due to uncertainty over the timing of US monetary easing, but broader geopolitical risks should provide a boost to new highs, analysts said.
Gold bulls are exhausted and taking a pause after the rally, said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco Metals, adding that “the $2,000 level is likely to be the near-term floor under the gold market”.
The dollar rose 0.2% to hover near a two-week high, making gold more expensive for holders of other currencies.
“We do not expect the (gold) price to rise sustainably to $2,100 per troy ounce until the second half of 2024, when the Fed begins to cut interest rates,” Commerzbank said in a note.
Data showed US job openings fell to a more than two-and-a-half-year low in October, suggesting higher interest rates are dampening demand for workers.
Investors are looking ahead to Friday’s US non-farm payrolls report for November.
Spot silver lost 1.4% to $24.16 an ounce, while platinum lost 1.8% to $899.80.
Palladium fell 4.1% to a more than five-year low of $936.24 an ounce.
