Gold slipped on Friday but remained on course for its strongest week in more than two months, after a sharp rebound from a one-year low.

Spot gold fell 0.4 per cent to $4,070.59 an ounce by 1124 GMT on Friday, while US gold futures for December delivery dropped 0.8 per cent to $4,080.70. Despite the pullback, the metal was up about 5 per cent for the week so far, its best weekly performance since late August.

A sharp recovery from the low

Gold had dropped to a one-year low of $3,869.85 an ounce on 30 October. It then recovered strongly during the week, touching $4,146.63 on Thursday, its highest since 20 October, as the US dollar fell to a one-month low after the Democrats won both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections.

Jobs data and oil weigh on the metal

Friday's dip came as oil prices rebounded, fanning inflation worries and bolstering expectations that interest rates will stay higher for longer. Investors were also waiting for the US non-farm payrolls report, due later on Friday, for clues on the Federal Reserve's next move. A stronger-than-expected jobs reading would tend to lift the dollar and push gold lower.

Forecast cut in the background

Goldman Sachs on Thursday lowered its end-2026 gold price forecast to $4,150 per ounce from $4,650, citing the implications of the Federal Reserve's more hawkish policy stance in recent months. Even after the cut, the bank's target sits above current prices, and the metal's weekly gain shows buyers returning after the late-October sell-off.