Gold rises on rate cut bets as investors brace for US data

Gold gained on Friday, supported by growing bets on a US interest rate cut, with markets focused on upcoming US inflation data ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting next week, reports Reuters.

Spot gold rose 0.5 per cent to $4,226.99 per ounce, as of 1208 GMT, but was on track for a 0.1 per cent weekly decline.

US gold futures for February delivery edged 0.3 per cent higher to $4,257.40 per ounce.

"Gold remains somewhat buoyed by market bets that the Fed will cut rates next week," said Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM.

Data on Wednesday showed that private payrolls fell by 32,000 in November, the sharpest drop in more than 2-1/2 years.

A majority of more than 100 economists polled by Reuters forecast the Fed will reduce its key interest rate by 25 basis points at its December 9-10 meeting. Lower interest rates tend to favour non-yielding assets such as gold.

Investors are eyeing the delayed September PCE inflation data due later today, which will mark the final data release before next week's FOMC meeting.

Meanwhile, gold prices in India jumped close to a record this week, denting physical demand as buyers waited for a price correction, while demand in China also remained relatively low. amid volatility and high prices in the spot gold market. Silver rose 1.9 per cent to $58.20 an ounce, up 3.2 per cent for the week after touching a record $58.98 on Wednesday.