With an eye on the US NFP, the XAU/USD is approaching the $1,875 mark

The gold price (XAU/USD) is swinging around $1,870, following an upswing to reclaim a one-month high during Friday’s early Asian session, as the NFP-related caution saps enthusiasm. The recent mixed stories about China, as well as resurgence in US Treasury yields, may also pose a threat to gold prices.

The previous day, though, the yellow metal climbed the highest in a fortnight as the US Dollar Index experienced its greatest daily drop in two weeks. Softer US statistics and Fed policymakers’ hesitation, on the other hand, appeared to have prompted the US dollar’s decline, as well as accelerated gold prices.

The early indication of Friday’s US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP), namely the US ADP Employment Change, fell to 128K for May, vs 300K estimates and a downwardly revised 202K previous figure. The Weekly US Initial Jobless Claims, on the other hand, fell to 200K from 210K expected and 211K the week before. In addition, Nonfarm Productivity and Unit Labor Costs also improved in Q1, to -7.3 percent and 12.6 percent, respectively, compared to market consensus numbers of -7.5 percent and 11.6 percent. Furthermore, factory orders in the United States fell by 0.3 percent in April, compared to a revised 1.8 percent in March and an estimate of 0.7 percent.

Lael Brainard, the Vice-Chair of the Federal Reserve, and Loretta Mester, the President of the Cleveland Federal Reserve, both repeated statements that suggested increasing odds supporting the Fed’s aggressive rate hikes. Deputy US Trade Representative (USTR) Sarah Bianchi stated in a Reuters interview on Thursday that “all options are on the table” when it comes to tariff determinations on Chinese goods. “The US Trade Representative is seeking a ‘strategic realignment’ with China, as well as a tariff structure that ‘makes sense,'” the diplomat noted.

While Wall Street benchmarks gained for the first time in a week, US Treasury rates remained under pressure. The S&P 500 Futures have recently posted minor increases, although US Treasury rates have paused their recent decline around 2.92 percent, indicating the market’s cautious confidence. Moving forward, gold traders will be looking for a new direction in the US jobs report for May, as well as the ISM Services PMI for the same month.