XAU/USD: Gold Holds on to Record Gains Ahead of Jobs Data. Is $3,000 Next Milestone?

Precious metal advanced to levels around $2,880 per ounce. Friday’s nonfarm payrolls could send it even higher.

💫 Gold Shines Bright

• Gold prices XAUUSD edged higher Friday morning as gold bulls were getting antsy over the release of January’s jobs data. The bullion per troy ounce was going for $2,867 to $2,870, which was just below the record high of $2,880 reached earlier this week.
• Gold’s upside this week is largely due to safe-haven buying with jittery investors looking for a safe space to park their cash as Trump shoots the tariff gun left and right.

📰 Nonfarm Payrolls Loom

• But that’s all taking a back seat today as markets are on edge ahead of the nonfarm payrolls report. Expectations are fairly modest with about 156,000 to 169,000 roles filled last month. The news dump is likely to stir gold prices, regardless of what the actual number shows.
• Gold has traditionally been highly sensitive to nonfarm payrolls releases as they serve as a gauge for the US economy. How daring employers are in their hiring efforts helps put things into perspective.

🏆 Gold at $3,000?

• Trump’s tariffs (and the looming trade war between the US and China), coupled with potential economic tremors might turn out to be very bullish for gold. That’s why a growing number of analysts, including those at Goldman Sachs and UBS, maintain a lofty price target.
• It’s $3,000. An ounce. “Gold’s enduring appeal as a store of value and hedge against uncertainty has again proven itself,” UBS said in a Thursday note.