Gold Retreats to $4,208 After Hitting Six-Week Highs

According to Trading Economics, gold initially surged to around $4,250 an ounce on Friday, reaching its highest level since late October, before retreating later in the session to approximately $4,208 amid profit-taking and position adjustments.

The early rally was driven by economic data that reinforced market expectations of an imminent interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) data showed a monthly increase of 0.3% and an annual rise of 2.8%, while the core reading slowed to 2.8% from 2.9%, reflecting a mix of persistently elevated goods prices and easing services inflation, pointing to cooling underlying pressures.

Consumer confidence, as measured by the University of Michigan index, improved to 53.3 points, with inflation expectations for the next year declining to 4.1%, while the five-year outlook remained steady at 3.2%, signaling a softer price trajectory ahead.

The likelihood of monetary easing increased further following a surprising drop of 32,000 jobs in the private sector according to ADP data, alongside announcements of 71,321 layoffs in Challenger data, prompting investors to rebuild positions after an earlier profit-taking wave, which initially supported bullion prices before the late-session pullback.