Gold prices slip ahead of US jobless claims data

Gold prices slumped today, Feb. 8, as investors awaited data on US jobless claims, which are expected to drop to 221,000 applications, while tracking the Federal Reserve officials' statements about interest rates.

Bullion for April delivery fell 0.37% to $2,044.10 per ounce at 11:37 am Makkah time., with spot prices also down 0.28% to $2,029.64 an ounce.

Similarly, silver futures for March delivery tumbled 0.16% to $22.33 per ounce, in tandem with a 0.11% drop in platinum spot prices to $882.35 per ounce.

On one hand, there remain enough geopolitical concerns to keep safe-haven buying on the agenda, which is limiting gold's downside, said Tim Waterer, Chief Market Analyst at KCM Trade, adding, but on the other hand, delays over timings on potential rate-cuts are acting as a cap to gold's immediate upside potential.

According to the CME FedWatch Tool, expectations for the Federal Reserve to fix interest rates at next month’s meeting rose to 81.5%, compared to 62% a week ago. Meanwhile, forecasts for a 25-basis-point cut weakened to 18.5% from 38%.