XAU/USD: Gold Picks Up Pace in Fifth Day of Gains, Price Tops $2,060 Ahead of Jobs Data

Precious metal advanced early on Friday as gold bugs anticipated a cool January nonfarm payrolls report out of the US.

• Gold XAUUSD was on its way to close out a fifth straight day of gains early Friday. The precious metal crossed $2,060 per ounce, adding roughly $40 to its price during its string of uninterrupted increases. Before the deal is sealed, however, there’s a big milestone waiting ahead.
• It’s Jobs Day today! And that means gold bugs will be parsing a fresh nonfarm payrolls report. Later today, the US is expected to say it has added fewer jobs in January – 187,000 – in a nod to the Federal Reserve’s efforts to tighten economic conditions by raising interest rates and keeping them high.
• Against that backdrop, gold prices may spiral out of control should there be any surprises in this labor-market update. Broadly, the shiny commodity has been fairly subdued to start the year. Prices are down about 3% from their opening level in January, courtesy of a stronger US dollar.