Spot gold fell 0.3% to $4,290.33 per ounce as of 0637 GMT, after rallying 64% year-to-date and breaking multiple records. U.S. gold futures also slipped 0.4%, settling at $4,316.40.
“We're right up against the former high around $4,380 from mid-October. So the market is essentially asking whether there’s enough conviction to break higher, or whether this is a level where momentum starts to fade,” said Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive.
Traders are currently pricing in a 76% probability that the Fed will hold interest rates steady in January, according to CME’s FedWatch tool. This week’s data — including combined U.S. employment reports for October and November — is expected to offer clues on how quickly the central bank may ease policy in 2026. However, some details of the reports will be missing due to a 43-day government shutdown, including October’s unemployment rate.
Fed Governor Stephen Miran has noted that current above-target inflation does not fully reflect underlying supply and demand dynamics, which remain closer to the central bank’s 2% target. Market participants are also awaiting weekly jobless claims and the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures index, later this week. Gold, as a non-yielding asset, tends to perform well in low-rate environments.
Silver experienced a sharper pullback, with spot silver down 1.4% to $63.03 per ounce after hitting a record high of $64.65 on Friday. Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, said silver retains a bullish outlook, driven by persistent industrial demand and tightening inventories, following a 121% rally this year.
In other precious metals, spot platinum rose 1.3% to $1,806.46, while palladium climbed 1% to $1,582.68.