Gold Stabilizes Amid Anticipation for U.S. Job Data Following Venezuela Tensions

SadaNews - Gold prices stabilized as traders looked beyond the tensions in Venezuela toward a busy series of economic data in the United States.

The bullion was near $4440 an ounce after rising 2.7% in the previous session, following the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

Uncertainty still looms over the governance of the South American nation after President Donald Trump stated that the United States plans to "manage" the country.

Traders are turning their attention to a large number of expected economic data from the U.S. this week, with the December job report due on Friday.

On Monday, Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari said that interest rates might be close to a neutral level for the U.S. economy, leaving it to incoming data to guide the central bank's actions.

Gold's Best Annual Performance

Gold posted its best annual performance since 1979, reaching a series of record highs throughout the past year supported by central bank buying and inflows to bullion-backed exchange-traded funds.

The three consecutive interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve also served as a tailwind for the precious metals, which do not pay interest.

Foad Rizk Zada, an analyst at City Index, stated that the forecasts for 2026 are "much more balanced and accurate." He wrote in a note that "central bank buying, the trend of global bond yields, and the amount of easing left are more critical factors than ever."

Expectations for Further Increases

The bullion is trading nearly $100 below the all-time high of $4549.92 reached on December 26.

Some leading banks are forecasting further gains this year, especially with expectations that the Federal Reserve may implement additional interest rate cuts, reshaping Trump's control of the Federal Reserve.

Goldman Sachs said last month that its base case is a rise to $4900 an ounce, with risks skewed to the upside.

In the short term, there are concerns that a broad rebalancing of commodity indices may put pressure on prices. Record highs in gold and silver could prompt passive tracking funds to sell some contracts to match new weights starting Thursday.

Gold fell 0.2% to $4440.55 an ounce as of 8:20 a.m. in Singapore. Silver slipped 0.4% to $76.30 an ounce. Platinum and palladium also declined. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, a key gauge of the U.S. currency's strength, rose 0.1%.