*

Annual Commodity Index rebalancing begins this week

*

U.S. job openings dropped to 14-month low in November

*

HSBC sees gold at $5,000/oz in H1; silver at $58-$88 in

2026

(Updates for EMEA mid-session trading)

By Pablo Sinha

Jan 8 (Reuters) - Gold prices fell on Thursday as

investors braced for futures selling tied to ‌a commodity index

reshuffle, with a stronger U.S. dollar adding pressure by making

the metal costlier for overseas ​buyers.

Spot gold fell 0.6% to $4,428.06 per ounce, as of

1115 GMT. U.S. gold ‍futures for February delivery fell

0.6% to $4,436.30.

"Gold and silver remain ⁠under pressure as ⁠the annual

commodity-index rebalancing gets underway. Over the next five

days, COMEX futures could see selling in the ‌region of $6 to $7

billion in each metal," ​said Ole Hansen, head of commodity

strategy at Saxo Bank.

The annual Bloomberg Commodity Index rebalancing, designed

to keep the index aligned with ⁠the current state of the global

commodity ‍market, begins ​this week.

"(The U.S.-Venezuela conflict) added a small georisk premium

at the beginning of the week which is now deflating as the

attention turns to ‍the rebalancing," Hansen added.

Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar hovered near a one-month high as

investors assessed mixed economic data ahead of Friday's nonfarm

payrolls report.

Data on Wednesday showed U.S. job openings dropped to a

14-month low in November while hiring resumed its sluggish tone,

pointing to ebbing labor demand.

Investors are now awaiting the ​U.S. ‍non-farm payrolls data

for more clues on monetary policy, with markets pricing in two

interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year.

On the ​geopolitical front, the U.S. seized two

Venezuela-linked oil tankers in the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday.

Spot silver lost 3.2% to $75.64 per ounce, after

hitting an all-time high of $83.62 on December 29.

HSBC sees gold hitting $5,000 per ounce in the first half of

2026 on geopolitical risks and rising fiscal debts, and expects

silver to trade between $58 and $88 in 2026, driven ​by supply

deficits, robust investment demand, and high gold prices, but

warned of a market correction later in the year.

Spot platinum was down 4.2% at $2,211.94 per ounce,

while palladium shed 2.4% to $1,721.61 per ‍ounce.