09:20 AM EDT, 05/06/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Gold prices rose early on Monday as the dollar and treasury yields weakened following Friday's weak U.S. jobs report.
Gold for June delivery was last seen up US$23.00 to US$2,331.60 per ounce.
The rise follows Friday's weak U.S. jobs data, which showed the country added 175,000 jobs last month, down from 315,000 new positions in March and under the consensus estimate for an increase of 240,000 jobs, according to Marketwatch.
The weak data raised expectations the Federal Reserve will be able to lower interest rates this year, with the CME Fedwatch tool now seeing a 37.2% probability for a 25 basis-point cut to rates at the central bank's December meeting, with expectations rates will be kept at 23-year highs for the four other remaining meetings of the Fed's policy group this year.
The dollar fell early, making gold more affordable for international buyers. The ICE dollar index was last seen down 0.13 points to 104.9.
Treasury yields also weakened, lowering the carrying cost of owning gold. The US two-year note was last seen paying 4.812%, down 1.7 basis points, while the yield on the 10-year note was down 2.2 basis points to 4.497%.