Gold Price Prediction: The XAU/USD pair will go below $1700 after a positive NFP report, followed by the CPI

The gold price declined after the U.S. Labor Department released employment data that exceeded expectations, thereby validating the Fed's need for additional tightening and supporting the dollar. Consequently, XAU/USD is currently trading at approximately $1690, below its initial price.

Prior to the announcement of the US Nonfarm Payrolls report, the price of gold hovered around $1710. Gold's initial reaction to the headline, however, was a decline into the $1700 region, but this initial movement quickly vanished. In a volatile reaction, it extended its losses below $1700 at the time of typing.

US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data revealed that the US economy added 263K new jobs, above predictions of 250K, while the unemployment rate decreased to 3.5% from 3.7%. Even while the reading is lower than August's, it was above expectations, which would strengthen the case for a Federal Reserve rate hike.

In the meanwhile, money market futures have put in a 92% likelihood of a Fed rate hike of 75 basis points, up from 85.5% prior to the US Nonfarm Payrolls report.

US Treasury bond yields rose, with the 10-year US Treasury bond yield increasing three basis points to 3.865%, while the US Dollar Index, a measure of the dollar's value vs six other currencies, rose 0.28% to 112.565.

Now that the US Nonfarm Payrolls report is in the rearview mirror, the next significant events on the US calendar are the September CPI statistics and the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment study, both of which will take place in the coming week.