2021.12.0118:32:00UTC+00Gold Prices Move Back To The Upside Amid Volatility On Wall Street

After turning lower over the course of the previous session, the price of gold moved back to the upside during trading on Wednesday.

Gold for February delivery climbed $7.80 or 0.4 percent to $1,784.30 an ounce after sliding $8.70 or 0.5 percent to $1,776.50 an ounce on Tuesday.

The rebound by the price of gold came even though the value of the U.S. dollar has shown a lack of direction over the course of the day. Currently, the U.S. dollar index is nearly unchanged.

Gold may have benefited from its appeal as a safe haven amid substantial volatility on Wall Street, with stocks showing wild swings over the past few sessions as traders react to news regarding the new coronavirus variant.

Buying interest remained somewhat subdued, however, as traders also continued to digest Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's comments hinting the central bank may accelerate the tapering of its bond purchases.

On the U.S. economic front, a report released by payroll processor ADP showed private sector employment increased by slightly more than expected in the month of November.

ADP said private sector employment shot up by 534,000 jobs in November after surging by a revised 570,000 jobs in October.

Economists had expected private sector employment to jump by about 525,000 jobs compared to the addition of 571,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

ADP chief economist Nela Richardson noted, "It's too early to tell if the Omicron variant could potentially slow the jobs recovery in coming months."

The Institute for Supply Management released a separate report showing manufacturing activity grew at a slightly faster rate in the month of November.

The ISM said its manufacturing PMI crept up to 61.1 in November from 60.8 in October, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the sector. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 61.0.