According to CoinMeta, gold prices are expected to record the largest single-week increase since January of this year, with non-farm payroll data becoming a key focus. Weaker oil prices provide support for gold prices, and investors are awaiting the U.S. non-farm employment data in search of clues about the outlook for U.S. interest rates. Senior analyst Matt Simpson from stonex said that improved prospects for peace in the Middle East have lowered market inflation expectations, driving gold prices higher from the consolidation range above $4,000 that persisted for several weeks. Simpson added, "Regardless of the non-farm employment data, $4,000 has proven to be a solid support level – I suspect that bulls are waiting for a pullback to seize the opportunity to push gold prices back up to $4,600. The non-farm employment data may bring some volatility in the short term, but the price trend has already indicated the direction; gold seems to want to rise."