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Gold under pressure as markets await US NFP Data

Gold under pressure as markets await US NFP Data
Youssef Eid

August 31, 2026

Gold prices fell 0.2% on Monday’s trading session, following sharp losses of 3.2% in the previous session—the longest daily losing streak since early June.

The yellow metal is currently trading below the weekly pivot point of $4,532, as it looks to test the first weekly support level at $4,368. A break below this level is likely to lead to further losses, with the next support level at $4,281.

If gold manages to break above the weekly pivot point of $4,532, it will test resistance levels near $4,619 then $4,784.

In terms of geopolitical tension, U.S. forces struck two Iranian launchers on Iran’s Larak Island on Sunday, ​a U.S. official said, marking the first known American strikes on Iran since ‌late July.

Iran responded by attacking U.S. forces stationed in Jordan, according to a Fox News reporter on Sunday, citing a U.S. source. Nearly all incoming missiles “have been intercepted at this point,” the reporter’s X ​post said, noting that there had been no significant impact so far.

Of the ​initial U.S. strikes, the U.S. official said, “I can confirm that earlier today ⁠U.S. forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces ​were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into Strait of Hormuz.”

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards ​said the attack killed and wounded several soldiers and citizens and would be met with a “response and punishment” from Tehran, Iranian state media reported.

On the economic data front, Headlining the economic calendar this week will be the August U.S. jobs report, a figure which could sway the trajectory of Federal Reserve interest rate policy.

The U.S. economy is expected to have added 58,000 jobs last month, following a loss of 23,000 jobs in July—one of the weakest employment readings in recent times. The unemployment rate is also seen at 4.1%, matching the prior month.

Beyond the jobs data, figures gauging manufacturing and services activity from the Institute for Supply Management will be in focus.

ISM’s purchasing managers’ index, a tracker of the U.S. manufacturing sector, is tipped to come in at 55.2 in August, compared to 55.6 in the preceding month. A reading above 50 denotes expansion in manufacturing.