Gold prices fell slightly on February 2 morning after a two-day increase on expectations of the important statistics of US unemployment for January, expected to be released on February 4, Report informs.
The April gold futures decreased by $3.35, or 0.19%, to $1,798.15 per troy ounce on the New York Comex stock exchange. March silver futures rose 0.27% to $22.657 an ounce.
Investors are expecting data on unemployment in the US in January. Analysts believe that unemployment remained at 3.9% in December, while the number of people employed in non-farm sectors increased by 150,000. Unemployment statistics are an important economic indicator that is taken into account by the US Federal Reserve System when making decisions on monetary policy.
Almost 90% of analysts expect the Fed to raise the rate in March to 0.25-0.5%, the rest are waiting for an increase to 0.5-0.75%. At the same time, a third of analysts predict that the rate will reach 1.25-1.5% by the end of the year.