Spot gold retreated 0.7% to $4,375.66 an ounce at 15:02 ET on Tuesday, and gold futures slipped 1.3% to $4,419.64. The decline came as the Japanese yen surged, curbing the dollar's recent gains.
Brent crude futures rose modestly 0.1% to $97.13 a barrel after earlier touching $99.45, while the market recalled a 9.3% weekly surge. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) remained a focus, with analysts noting that a sustained price below $90 per barrel could influence Federal Reserve policy.
U.S. labor data showed August non‑farm payrolls adding 162,000 jobs, far above the 55,000 forecast, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%. The CME FedWatch tool indicated roughly a 60% chance of a 0.25‑percentage‑point rate hike later in the month.
Interactive Brokers senior economist José Torres projected the upcoming inflation reading to match July's 3.4%, down from 3.5% in June and 4.2% in May, and warned that higher oil prices could stall progress on price stability.
Geopolitical tension added volatility: U.S. Central Command struck three Iranian oil carriers following IRGC missile attacks on two U.S. Navy warships. Iran retaliated with strikes on six vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and targeted Saudi Aramco's Jazan refinery, which has a 400,000‑barrel‑per‑day capacity.
The mixed backdrop of stronger yen, robust U.S. jobs, elevated Fed‑hike odds and Middle‑East flare‑ups limited gold's upside and kept oil gains modest.
