At around 1:03 a.m. on September 6, Vietnam time, the spot gold price increased by 0.9% to $2,515.93/ounce. The precious metal had increased by 1.1% during the session, but the increase was limited after data on the US service sector.

U.S. private employers hired the fewest workers in 3 1/2 years in August 2024, indicating a significant slowdown in the labor market. The data came after data on Sept. 4 showed job openings fell sharply in July 2024.

There was a rally in gold after the ADP data and that shows the labor market is in bad shape and there are a lot of concerns about it, said Phillip Streible, market strategist at Blue Line Futures.

Traders are now pricing in a 59% chance of a 25 basis point (bp) cut by the Fed this month and a 41% chance of a 50bp cut, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said on September 4 that the Fed needs to cut interest rates to support the labor market, but is waiting for upcoming economic data to determine the extent of the cut.

Market attention now turns to the non-farm payrolls report, due out on September 6.

If the August 2024 unemployment rate remains at 4.3% as in July 2024, the highest since 2021, gold prices could return to record highs as markets ramp up bets for a major rate cut, said Han Tan, a market analyst at Exinity Group.

In other precious metals markets, spot silver rose 1.9% to $28.82 an ounce, platinum rose 2.7% to $926.74 an ounce and palladium rose 0.9% to $942.36 an ounce.

In the domestic market, Saigon Jewelry Company (SJC) announced the selling price of SJC gold bars at 78.5 – 80.5 million VND/tael (buy – sell).