Gold prices and silver fell again after the US dollar strengthened.\nAccording to Refinitiv, gold traded on Thursday, 5 March 2026, closed at\nUS$5,076.59 per troy ounce. The price fell 1.14%. Yesterday\u2019s close was\nthe lowest since 19 February, or two weeks ago.<\/p>\n
The weakness also dragged gold below the US$5,100 per troy ounce\nlevel. The retreat reversed a 1% gain seen on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Today, gold price slightly recovered. On Friday, 6 March 2026 at\n06:10 WIB, gold rose 0.25% to US$5,089, or up 0.16%.<\/p>\n
Gold prices weakened as the US dollar surged. The dollar index closed\nat 99.08 yesterday, the highest since 19 February 2026.<\/p>\n
The US dollar is the \u2018eternal foe\u2019 of gold because it strongly\ninfluences demand. Global buying is translated into US dollars, so price\nrises can make gold more expensive to buy, dampening demand.<\/p>\n
There are two main factors supporting the dollar\u2019s strength.<\/p>\n
First, crude oil surged to a fresh one-year high, after reports of\ndisruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on vessels in the\nregion.<\/p>\n
Second, US employment data show the labour market remains fairly\nrobust.<\/p>\n
The Challenger Job Cuts report showed US companies announced 48,307\nlayoffs in February, down 55% from January\u2019s 108,435.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Initial Jobless Claims for the week ended 28 February\nstood at 213,000, unchanged from the previous figure and below market\nexpectations of 215,000.<\/p>\n
Nonfarm Productivity in Q4 2025 rose 2.8%, down from 5.2% previously.\nFor the same period, Unit Labour Cost rose 2.8%, reversing a -1.8%\ndecline in Q3.<\/p>\n
Investors and gold traders will await further data. The US will\nrelease February Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) on Friday. The data are expected\nto show the US economy added 59,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate is\nprojected to remain at 4.3%, unchanged from January.<\/p>\n
The US will also release January Retail Sales, which were delayed due\nto the partial government shutdown in February.<\/p>\n
Despite the weakness, gold has upside potential given the ongoing\nconflict.<\/p>\n
Israel launched a large-scale assault on Tehran on Thursday,\ntargeting what it described as Iran\u2019s infrastructure, after Iran\u2019s\nmissiles prompted millions of Israelis to seek shelter.<\/p>\n
On one hand, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East could boost\ndemand for safe-haven assets like gold. On the other hand, the risk of a\nprolonged period of high energy prices could make rate cuts unlikely, or\neven increase the likelihood of rate hikes, thus limiting further gains\nin gold, said Hamad Hussain, an energy and commodities economist at\nCapital Economics.<\/p>\n
In the long term, gold is viewed as a hedge against inflation, but\nthe precious metal also tends to perform better when interest rates are\nlower, because it is a non-yielding asset.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gold-prices-fall-more-than-1-hit-by-their-eternal-foe-1772762769", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }