Gold moves into positive territory ahead of US jobs data

• The precious metal 'gold' is on track for its second consecutive weekly loss. • The US dollar retreats from a 17-month peak against a basket of currencies. • Yields on US Treasury bonds decline for the second consecutive session. • Markets await decisive clues regarding the path of US interest rates. These data are expected to provide crucial evidence regarding the Federal Reserve's potential to raise interest rates this October, especially as US monetary policymakers rely heavily on this data, alongside inflation indicators, to determine the extent of the need to continue monetary normalization. US Treasury bond yields: The yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds fell by 0.25% on Friday, continuing its losses for the second consecutive session and moving away from its 24-year high of 5.342%, which puts negative pressure on the US dollar exchange rate. US interest rates: According to the CME Group's 'FedWatch' tool, the pricing of the probability that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged at the October meeting is currently stable at 73%, while the probability of a 25-basis-point rate hike is at 27%. US jobs: To reprice the above probabilities, markets are awaiting the monthly US jobs report later today, which will include important data on the US labor market, especially non-farm payrolls added in September, in addition to the unemployment rate and average hourly earnings. The non-farm payrolls data will be released at 12:30 GMT. Expectations indicate that the US economy added 89,000 new jobs in September, following a loss of 162,000 jobs in August, with the unemployment rate stable at 4.1% and average hourly earnings expected to rise by 0.3%, matching the previous reading.