Gold trades near two-week high on cooling US rate-hike bets

Gold prices held near a two-week high on Monday after a cooler-than-expected US jobs report last week slightly tempered expectations of interest rate hikes by ​the Federal Reserve. Spot gold was steady at $4,175.02 per ounce by 0028 ‌GMT, after posting a weekly gain of more than 2% following four straight weeks of declines on Friday. US gold futures for August delivery climbed 1.5% to $4,186.80 per ounce. Data on ​Thursday showed U.S. job growth slowed sharply in June and payroll gains for ​the prior two months were revised lower, pointing to a cooling ⁠labor market and prompting financial markets to dial back expectations for a near-term ​Fed rate hike. Traders now see about a 55% chance of a rate increase ​in September, down from more than 60% before the data, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Lower interest rates tend to be favorable to gold, as it is a non-yielding asset. The release of the minutes from the Fed’s June 16-17 meeting, Kevin Warsh’s ​first as Fed chair, on Wednesday will be in focus for investors later this week.