Gold soars as US labor data, Fed meeting minutes awaited

Gold bars

Gold prices gained ground today, July 3, as markets geared up for a slew of US labor data and minutes from the Federal Reserve's June policy meeting for more direction.

Bullion for August delivery surged 0.37%, or $8.70, to $2,342.10 per ounce at 08:48 am Makkah time, with spot prices also up 0.18% to $2,333.54 each.

Similarly, silver futures for July delivery nudged up by 0.98% to $29.95 an ounce, while platinum spot prices fell 0.16% to $997.64 per ounce.

Today, investors are awaiting the release of the ADP’s monthly jobs report. Analysts forecast the US private sector to add 158,000 jobs in June, compared to 152,000 new positions in May.

Weekly data on US unemployment claims is also due later in the day. Estimates suggest a rise of 2,000 applications to total 235,000 for the past week.