(Kitco News) - Gold prices are slightly lower in early U.S. trading Thursday and silver is near steady, just ahead of the U.S. employment report for September—the first such report in weeks. Solid gains in global stock markets today are limiting buying interest in the safe-haven metals. December gold was last down $7.00 at $4,076.00. December silver prices were up $0.001 at $50.865.
Global stock markets and U.S. stock indexes posted solid gains overnight, following Nvidia Corp. on Wednesday afternoon delivering a surprisingly strong revenue forecast. The company also pushed back on the idea that the artificial intelligence industry is in a bubble, easing concerns that had spread across the tech sector. Nvidia sales will be about $65 billion in the January quarter, the chipmaker said in a statement on Wednesday. Analysts had estimated $62 billion on average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has faced mounting concerns about an AI bubble. The outlook signals demand remains robust for Nvidia’s artificial intelligence accelerators, the pricey and powerful chips used to develop AI models. Nvidia has faced growing fears that the runaway spending on such equipment isn’t sustainable.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its September monthly jobs report today at 7:30 a.m. CST. The marketplace expects a rise of 50,000 non-farm payroll jobs in the September data. The August jobs report showed a rise of just 22,000 non-farm jobs. The agency on Wednesday said it is cancelling its October jobs report due to lack of sufficient data collected. Some October jobs data will be rolled into a report to be published after the Fed’s December FOMC decision on Dec. 8, said the bureau, prompting traders to scale back expectations for a quarter-point Fed reduction at that time. Markets on Wednesday afternoon implied about a 30% chance of a Fed rate cut in early December.
FOMC minutes show divided Federal Reserve. Wednesday afternoon’s release of the minutes from the late-October meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) showed many Fed officials believe it would likely be appropriate to keep U.S. interest rates steady for the remainder of 2025. “Many participants suggested that, under their economic outlooks, it would likely be appropriate to keep the target range unchanged for the rest of the year,” the minutes said. However, the minutes said “several participants” said another cut “could well be appropriate in December if the economy evolved about as they expected” before the next meeting. The minutes underscored the uncertainty around the likelihood of a Fed rate cut next month, given ongoing divisions in the committee over whether inflation or unemployment represents a greater threat to the U.S. economy.
U.S. military delegation met with Ukraine officials in Kyiv… A group of U.S. military officials met with Ukrainian officials in Kyiv Wednesday as part of a fresh bid by President Trump to rejuvenate peace talks with Russia, even as another U.S.-Russian proposal modeled on the Gaza ceasefire got a tepid reception from Ukraine’s supporters, Bloomberg reported. The delegation, led by Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll, will examine ways to force Russia to end the fighting, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations. Joining him were General Randy George, the Army chief of staff, and General Chris Donahue, the US Army commander for Europe. One of the people said Driscoll had already been planning to go to Ukraine and Trump enlisted him to see if he could come up with fresh ideas for a path toward peace. Driscoll plans to meet with Russian officials later, according to the person. The Pentagon declined to comment on details of the trip. Axios reported earlier that the Trump administration has been working up a 28-point plan in consultation with Russia, inspired by the ceasefire deal that Trump achieved in Gaza, Bloomberg reported.
China considering new stimulus for its struggling property sector. China is considering new measures to turn around its struggling property market, as concerns mount that a further weakening of the sector will threaten to destabilize its financial system, according to people familiar with the matter and as reported by Bloomberg. “Policymakers, including the housing ministry, are considering a slew of options, such as providing new homebuyers mortgage subsidies for the first time nationwide, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter. Other measures being floated include raising income tax rebates for mortgage borrowers and lowering home transaction costs, one of the people said. “The relaxation of fiscal policy is in line with our previous expectations, and reducing taxes and fees will moderately boost home buying activities,” said Jeff Zhang, a property equity analyst at Morningstar Inc. “We believe that the confidence of homebuyers still needs further stabilizing property prices to recover.”
The key outside markets today see the U.S. dollar index slightly higher. Crude oil prices are firmer and trading around $60.00 a barrel. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note is presently 4.14%.
Technically, December gold futures bulls’ next upside price objective is to produce a close above solid resistance at the record high of $4,398.00. Bears' next near-term downside price objective is pushing futures prices below solid technical support at $4,000.00. First resistance is seen at the overnight high of $4,109.60 and then at this week’s high of $4,134.30. First support is seen at the overnight low of $4,034.00 and then at $4,000.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 6.5.
December silver futures bulls have the firm overall near-term technical advantage and their next upside price objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at the record high of $54.415. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at $47.50. First resistance is seen at the overnight high of $51.57 and then at $52.00. Next support is seen at $50.00 and then at this week’s low of $49.115. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 7.5
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