Gold prices drifted lower on Friday as the dollar moved up amid rising prospects of aggressive rate hikes by the Federal Reserve after data showed a stronger than expected growth in U.S. non-farm payroll employment in the month of May.
Hawkish comments from Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard weighed on gold prices earlier in the day. Brainard told CNBC it's "very hard to see the case for a pause" in rate hikes and the central bank still has "a lot of work to do to get inflation down to the 2 percent target."
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Market Analysis
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.