• US Nonfarm Payrolls show steady job growth, but Fed remains in no rush to cut rates.
• Powell reiterates that inflation path will be "bumpy," keeping policy steady for now.
• PBoC adds 10 tonnes of Gold in early 2025, while Poland’s NBP purchases 29 tonnes.

Gold prices fell on Friday as the Greenback trims some of its losses and US Treasury bond yields recover following the release of a US jobs market report. At the time of writing, the XAU/USD trades at $2,907, down 0.11%.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the February Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report, which showed that the economy added more people to the workforce than in January despite missing the mark. The same data showed that the Unemployment Rate remained within familiar levels with Federal Reserve (Fed) Governor Adriana Kugler saying that hiring remains above the breakeven level.

Kugler added that uncertainty is difficult for all parts of the economy. Earlier, she stated that monetary policy would remain steady for some time and added that wages are not a source of inflationary pressure.

Recently, Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated that the central bank is not in a hurry to lower rates. Powell added that getting inflation to 2% would be bumpy and that the central bank doesn’t need to overreact to one or two readings. Powell said the Fed is well-positioned regarding monetary policy.

When asked about tariffs, Powell said it remains to be seen if they would be inflation-prone.

Easing geopolitical tensions capped Bullion’s advance as there’s some progress in a possible ceasefire agreement between Ukraine and Russia. In the Middle East, US President Trump continued to exert pressure on Hamas to release hostages.

Central banks buy Gold

In the meantime, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) continues to purchase Gold, according to the World Gold Council (WGC). The PBoC increased its holdings by 10 tonnes in the first two months of 2025. However, the largest buyer was the National Bank of Poland (NBP), which increased its reserve by 29 tonnes, its largest purchase since June 2019, when it bought 95 tonnes.

Daily digest market movers: Gold advance halts as US real yields climb

• The US 10-year Treasury bond yield rises three basis points to 4.318%.
• US real yields, as measured by the US 10-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) yield that correlates inversely to Gold prices, edge up three-and-a-half basis points to 1.981%, a headwind for XAU/USD prices.
• US NFP for February came in at 151K, an improvement from January’s 125K but falling short of the 160K forecast.
• The Unemployment Rate edged up to 4.1%, slightly above the expected 4.0%, indicating some softening in the labor market.
• The Atlanta Fed GDPNow Model projects the GDP for Q1 2025 at -2.4%, up from the -2.8% contraction estimated on Wednesday.