Gold held firm near seven-week highs on Wednesday after overnight data indicated a continued cooling in the U.S. labor market.
Spot gold rose 0.4 percent to $4,321.02 an ounce while U.S. gold futures were up 0.4 percent at $4,349.60.
The dollar recovered some ground after hitting a 10-week low in the previous session in response to mixed U.S. jobs and retail sales data.
Data showed the U.S. economy shed 105,000 jobs in October, while the unemployment rate touched 4.6 percent — its highest level since September 2021.
However, 64,000 jobs were added in November, beating analysts' forecasts for an increase of 50,000 jobs.
Rising unemployment kept pressure on the Fed to consider cutting interest rates in the near future, but at the same time raised concerns about the state of the world's largest economy.
U.S. business activity expanded at its weakest pace since June, while retail sales were unexpectedly flat in October as consumers cut back on spending due to rising economic uncertainty, separate set of data revealed.
Traders now look ahead to Thursday's release of the consumer price index reading for November for more clarity on the economic and rate outlook.
Trading later in the day may be swayed by reaction to remarks from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller and New York Fed President John Williams.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Market Analysis
December 12, 2025 15:14 ET Central bank decisions dominated the economic news flow this week led by the Federal Reserve. Trade data from the U.S. also gained attention. The Canadian and Swiss central banks also announced their interest rate decisions. Inflation data from China was in focus as the country released the latest consumer price and producer price data.