On Thursday, gold prices jumped to the level of $ 2,080 per barrel for the first time since the beginning of January. Today, prices have stabilized near $2,070 per ounce and continue to move within the narrow sideways. The growth of precious metal quotations was facilitated by investors' confidence that the US Federal Reserve is not going to raise interest rates in the near future, which put pressure on the dollar. Today, the market is waiting for an important report on employment in the non-agricultural sector of the United States (Non-farm Payrolls), which will be published later in the evening. The market also quieted down ahead of the release of US wage data, which is expected to have a major impact on the Fed's interest rate plans. Analysts expect the Fed to cut rates at least 4 more times after May. And despite the fact that, most likely, the rate will remain high in the near future, the prospect of a possible reduction (as also indicated by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell at a meeting earlier this week) has a positive effect on bullion prices. Among industrial metals, copper prices fell on Friday and should end the week with a drop amid continuing concerns about the sluggish economic recovery of the main importer, China. Copper futures with March expiration fell 0.5% to $3,8342 per pound, and fell 0.3% during the week.
