(Bloomberg) -- Gold edged back from near a seven-week high as the dollar rebounded from the low that followed Friday's poor U.S. jobs report, which diminished concerns the Federal Reserve would taper bond buying soon.
U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose by 235,000 in August, the smallest gain in seven months and well below economists' forecasts. The soft report may prompt Federal Reserve policy makers to delay considering a move to scale back asset purchases at their September meeting. It also points to a challenging period of slower economic reopening and elevated price pressures.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell, in his Jackson Hole symposium speech on Aug. 27, said the labor market had made “clear progress,” and he expected the gains to meet the goal of “substantial further progress” needed for tapering later this year. Yet the tone of his remarks suggested he was in no hurry to move, even before Friday's jobs report.
Later this week, investors will watch the European Central Bank's meeting for any potential tweaks to monetary policy in the euro area. Few analysts expect any imminent changes, though more hawkish officials have raised the prospect of tapering.
“The ECB might raise the prospect of somewhat lower bond purchases within its pandemic emergency purchase program in the fourth quarter,” Daniel Briesemann, a commodity analyst at Commerzbank AG, wrote in a note. “This is unlikely to change the gold price much.”
Spot gold fell 0.3% to $1,823.07 an ounce by 5:47 p.m. in London. Bullion surged on Friday to $1,834.04, the highest since July 15. Spot silver, platinum and palladium also edged lower.
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