Gold Futures End Lower As Market Awaits US Non-Farm Payrolls

By Harizah Hanim Mohamed

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 (Bernama) -- Gold futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed lower today, tracking the weaker performance of gold in the global market.

Quintex Intel global strategist Stephen Innes said attention now turns squarely to the US non-farm payrolls report on Friday, with gold investors looking for a softer employment reading that could push back against expectations of a September Federal Reserve rate hike and provide some relief for bullion.

“Gold initially broke below US$4,300 per troy ounce in Asian trading, extending the hawkish Federal Reserve repricing that began in London yesterday and has since spread across global bond markets, with yields pushing higher. This is typically negative for gold as a non-yielding asset,” he told Bernama.

Innes, however, pointed out that buyers have started to step back in, with gold appearing to settle around US$4,325 per troy ounce, suggesting that some underlying demand remains.

“A firmer US dollar has also taken some momentum out of the debasement trade, which had started to regain traction last week,” he added.

At the close, the spot-month September 2026 contract fell to US$4,321.7 per troy ounce from US$4,385.70 per troy ounce yesterday, and the October 2026 contract edged down to US$4,335.8 per troy ounce compared with US$4,401.9 per troy ounce.

The November 2026 contract slid to US$4,353.20 per troy ounce from US$4,417.80 per troy ounce, while the December 2026, February 2027 and April 2027 contracts slipped to US$4,361.0 per troy ounce from US$4,425.60 per troy ounce.

Trading volume rose to 127 lots from 117 lots yesterday, while open interest improved to 184 contracts from 164 contracts previously.

Physical gold was fixed at US$4,353.15 per troy ounce at the London Bullion Market Association’s afternoon fix on Sept 1, 2026.

-- BERNAMA