09:29 AM EST, 01/08/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Gold traded higher early on Wednesday even as the dollar rose after a report showed the United States added fewer private sector jobs than expected jobs in December.

Gold for February delivery was last seen up US$5.80 to US$2,671.20 per ounce.

The ADP Employment Report said the U.S. private sector added 122,000 jobs last month, down from 146.000 in November and under the consensus expectation for a rise of 136,000 positions, according to Marketwatch. The weaker-than-expected result comes ahead of Friday's employment report, which is expected to show the United States added 155,000 jobs in December, down from 227,000 a month earlier.

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to stand pat on interest rates at the Jan.29 end to the next meeting of its policy committee despite the weaker labor-market data. The CME Fedwatch Tool shows a 95% probability the Fed will keep rates unchanged, offering little support for gold as lower rates cut the carrying cost of owning the metal.

The dollar moved up following the data, with the ICE dollar index last seen up 0.54 points to 109.08.

Treasury yields were mixed early, with the U.S. two-year note last seen paying 4.283%, down 1.9 basis points, while the yield on the 10-year note was up 1.2 points to 4.698%.