Gold climbs a third straight session to highest finish in a week

2.3.22 - Gold Climbs a Third Straight Day

Gold last traded at $1,803 an ounce. Silver at $22.37 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: Precious metal price eased back Thursday on mild profit-taking despite a weaker dollar. U.S. stocks fell after Facebook earnings missed investor expectations.

MarketWatch--"Gold prices tallied a third straight gain on Wednesday, as an unexpected monthly fall in U.S. private-sector jobs, weakness in the dollar, and a further retreat in yields for government debt helped lift the precious metal to its highest settlement price in a week.

'While gold is likely to exploit the dollar's weakness to push higher, its near-term outlook remains influenced by the U.S. jobs report on Friday,' said Lukman Otunuga, manager, market analysis at FXTM.

'A strong jobs report that shows robust job and wage growth may reinforce expectations of a hawkish [Federal Reserve], dragging gold prices lower as the dollar regains its mojo,' he told MarketWatch. However, 'if the jobs report disappoints, this could offer some relief to gold bugs, resulting in an incline back towards $1,831.'

On Wednesday, gold got a boost after data showed privately run U.S. businesses reducedemployment by 301,000 jobs in January -- the biggest drop since the start of the pandemic. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a 200,000 gain....

'Gold is hovering right above $1,800 and there is meaningful safe haven interest with market volatility along with the Ukraine crisis to support this level,' Jeff Wright, chief investment officer at Wolfpack Capital, told MarketWatch."