The gold market is spinning its wheels, caught in a stalemate, which could create some profit-taking among investors and weigh on prices in the near term, noted mining audiences manager Michael McCrae.

On Saturday McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable.

Heading into the weekend, markets continue to digest the disappointing nonfarm payrolls numbers. The U.S. economy created 175,000 jobs last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The monthly figure missed expectations as economists were looking for job gains of 238,000.

At the same time, the unemployment rate increased, and wages didn’t rise as much as expected.

This was initially good news for the gold market, and prices briefly popped; however, in a fatigued market, many traders used the rally to sell. The gold market has managed to hold support above $2,300 an ounce, but it is ending the week with a roughly 1% loss.

After its massive $400+ rally, the gold market continues to consolidate and trend lower as sentiment normalizes. The focus again turns to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy and interest rates.

According to analysts, gold investors need more clarity from the Federal Reserve as a rate cut this summer becomes increasingly unlikely.

Given higher than expected inflation print this week, the Federal Reserve is less likely to lower interest rates.

On Friday mining audiences manager recorded Kitco Roundtable.

Gold investors could see higher volatility next week as the Federal Reserve is expected to signal it will not be ready to lower interest rates before the summer.

The weakness comes as the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge – the core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index – showed that inflation remains higher than preferred, rising 2.8% over the prior year in March, above estimates for 2.7%

On Wednesday the Fed will make an interest rate announced followed by a press briefing by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Mid week Bloomberg reported that BHP Group has made an unsolicited offer for Anglo American.

BHP Group is the world's largest diversified miner with a market cap of about $150 billion.

The deal could equal $39 billion making it one of the largest mining deals in decades. BHP is interested in Anglo American's copper assets. Anglo American is expected to produce 730–790 kt of copper in 2024 mostly due to operations in Chile and Peru.

With Middle East conflict unwinding, a focus on the Fed could slow gold's momentum.

On Saturday mining audiences manager Michael McCrae recorded Kitco Roundtable.

For now, the Israel-Iran conflict seems to have tamped down, which removes some safe-haven demand for gold and puts renewed focus on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy.

This week Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell surprised markets with a brief hawkish comment. While speaking at an event in Washington, D.C., Powell said that after the release of hotter-than-expected inflation data, the central bank has less confidence it is ready to cut interest rates. A June rate cut is basically off the table, and markets only see a 50/50 chance of a July rate cut.

In mining news the Biden Administration denied the building of an access road to Triology Metals' base metals project in central Alaska. The the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects is a joint venture with South32 50/50. Triology dropped about 25% for the week.