By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Gold was down on Thursday morning in Asia, remaining flat as the dollar remained near a one-year high. Investors also kept moves small, with the latest U.S. jobs report due later in the week.
Gold futures inched down 0.10% to $1,760.05 by 12:11 AM ET (4:11 AM GMT). The dollar, which usually moves inversely to gold, inched down on Thursday but remained near a one-year high hit last week.
The yield on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasuries eased off a more than three-month high overnight but remained above the 1.5% mark.
On the data front, the U.S. ADP non-farm employment change for September was a higher-than-expected 568,000. Subsiding numbers of COVID-19 cases boosted high-contact activity such as dining out at restaurants and travel.
Investors now await the jobs report, including non-farm payrolls, due on Friday to glean clues about the U.S. Federal Reserve’s timeline to begin asset tapering.
In other central bank news, the Reserve Bank of India will hand down its policy decision on Friday.
Meanwhile, investors also continue to monitor a debate in the U.S. Senate to increase the debt ceiling. Although the Republican and Democrat parties are nearing a deal for a temporary increase to avert a federal debt default in the next two weeks, the bipartisan debate continues.
In other precious metals, silver was unchanged at $22.59 per ounce, while platinum edged down 0.2% and palladium gained 0.6%.