Gold

According to Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, the Federal Reserve's inflation crusade may still not have restricted policy enough to bring down high prices. Speaking during an interview at Reuters in New York the president of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank suggested that interest rates are likely to stay put for an extended period.

Today’s strong recovery in gold was based on two important factors. The first is a delayed reaction to Friday’s jobs report, and the second is an increased geopolitical concern regarding Israel's long-promised ground invasion of Rafah in Gaza.

The latest U.S. jobs report showed a slowdown in hiring, with nonfarm payrolls increasing by 175,000 in April, down sharply from March's robust 315,000 new job gains. The unemployment rate held steady at 3.9%, while average hourly earnings rose less than expected.

As of 5:10 PM ET, gold futures for the most active June contract traded lower by -$1.40, settling at about $2,313. The session saw prices range from a low of $2,294.30 to a high of $2,336.10.

Gold prices surged on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged and struck a more dovish tone, acknowledging that progress on lowering inflation has stalled. The precious metal, often viewed as a hedge against inflation, benefited from the central bank's signal that further rate hikes are unlikely in the near term.