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The latest data from the World Gold Council shows that central banks' net gold purchases reached 60 tons in October, the highest level in 2024. The gold purchases in October were twice the average monthly purchases over the past 12 months. Among them, the cumulative gold purchases of the Reserve Bank of India so far this year and its purchases in October both rank at the forefront. India increased its gold holdings by 27 tons in October, and the total gold purchases so far this year have reached 77 tons. India's net gold purchases so far this year are five times its activities in 2023.  

Central banks in emerging markets continued to dominate the market. Turkey and Poland increased their gold reserves by 72 tons and 69 tons respectively. These three central banks alone accounted for 60% of the total global net gold purchases this year. In October, several other central banks also reported a net increase of more than 1 ton in their gold reserves.

 In the early trading session of the Asian market on Friday (December 6th), spot gold fluctuated in a narrow range and is currently trading around $2,633.65 per ounce. Gold prices fell by 0.68% on Thursday, hitting a low of $2,623.46 per ounce during the session, approaching the support near the one-week low of $2,620.83 set last Thursday. This was because after the release of the initial jobless claims data in the United States last week, the market's expectations for a rate cut by the Federal Reserve in December cooled slightly. However, the decline in gold prices was limited. Firstly, it was supported by the geopolitical situation, and secondly, the market was still awaiting the U.S. non-farm payrolls data to understand the Federal Reserve's stance on interest rate cuts. 

 On Tuesday, the spot gold price fell slightly by 0.2% and closed at $2,640 per ounce. The strong performance of the U.S. labor market further reinforced the view that the U.S. economy is robust and pushed the U.S. dollar higher, thus exerting pressure on gold priced in U.S. dollars. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the number of job openings in the U.S. in October (JOLTS) increased to 7.744 million, higher than the market expectation of 7.48 million and also higher than the revised figure of 7.372 million in September. This data prompted gold prices to give back some of the earlier gains brought about by the remarks of Federal Reserve officials. Previously, the speeches of Federal Reserve officials increased the market's expectations of a possible interest rate cut at the December policy meeting. Interest rate cuts are generally favorable for gold because they reduce the opportunity cost of holding gold, a non-interest-bearing asset. However, the strong employment data put pressure on gold and curbed its upward momentum.