Gold Advances Amid U.S. Shutdown Implications, Feeble Jobs Data

(RTTNews) - Gold prices edged higher on Friday amid concerns about the impact of the drawn-out U.S. government shutdown on the economy along with rising expectations of a central bank rate cut due to weaker jobs data.

Front Month Comex Gold for November delivery gained $19.50 (or 0.49%) to $3,999.40 per troy ounce. Gold rose $17.20 (or 0.43%) per troy ounce for this week.

Front Month Comex Silver for November delivery advanced by 22.30 cents (or 0.47%) to $48.017 per troy ounce. Silver crept up by $2.30 cents (or 0.05%) per troy ounce for this week.

The U.S. government shutdown enters day number 38.

The Senate is planning to vote on an updated funding bill. The Republicans have offered Democrats a new bill that would end the shutdown as well as advance three full-year spending bills.

The Congressional Business Office estimates that the real Gross Domestic Product will be lower in the fourth quarter of 2025 as a result of the shutdown.

The CBO also projects that this halt in government activities will lead to a temporary economic slowdown and lower the output of the private sector.

On Wednesday, the ADP employment report showed that private businesses in the U.S. added 42,000 jobs in October, rebounding from previous month.

However, optimism was short-lived after yesterday's Challenger job cuts data showed that U.S.-based employers announced 153,074 job cuts in October, the highest total for the month since 2003, compared with 54,064 in September.

Today, a report from the University of Michigan showed that the consumer sentiment index slid to 50.3 in November after falling to 53.6 in October.

While major U.S. tech companies are on a job-slashing-spree in the thousands, the surge in October layoffs has boosted expectations for an interest rate cut in December despite U.S. Federal Reserve officials offering divergent perspectives about monetary policy due to the lack of availability of official data.

According to CME Group's FedWatch Tool, investors are betting on a 66.6% chance of a 25-basis-point interest rate cut at the Fed's upcoming October 9-10 meeting.

Meanwhile, global central banks are reportedly accumulating gold reserves.

According to a People's Bank of China report, Chinese gold reserves are at 74.09 million fine troy ounce for the month ending October compared to 74.06 million troy ounce for the month ending September. The value of gold holdings by China was $297.21 billion at the end of last month versus $283.29 billion in September.

The World Gold Council has also reported that gold purchases by central banks saw a steep rise in September, with net purchases reaching 39 tonnes during the month. The purchases are up 79% on month. So far in 2025, central banks have purchased 200 tonnes of gold.

General Administration of Customs Data revealed that Chinese exports unexpectedly fell by 1.1% year-on-year to an eight-month low of $305.4 billion in October 2025.

The shrink is attributed to the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on China.

These numbers from the world's largest manufacturer suggest the impact of over-reliance on the American consumers and raises concerns about the economies of other nations as well.

U.S. dollar index was last seen trading at 99.48, lower by 0.21% (or 0.21%). Weakness in the dollar also supported gold prices on the upside.