Spot gold touched up to 3870 USD/ounce, rising 0.95% intraday.

On September 30, spot gold touched $3870/ounce, rising 0.95% during the day. Less than 48 hours before the U.S. government shutdown deadline on October 1, Trump held talks with leaders of both houses of Congress, but no progress was made on the Democratic demand for extending healthcare subsidies and reversing Trump's cuts to the Medicaid program. Vice President Pence stated that the U.S. government "is heading for a shutdown," and if an agreement cannot be reached, hundreds of thousands of federal employees will face furloughs, and the release of key economic data will also be hindered. A government shutdown will delay the release of key economic indicators (including the non-farm monthly employment report scheduled for release on Friday) and will at least temporarily leave hundreds of thousands of federal employees without pay, while other government employees will have to continue providing essential services without pay. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Monday that it will not release economic data during a potential shutdown. Trump threatened that if the government shuts down, he would permanently lay off federal employees on a large scale. If the shutdown occurs, it would be the first U.S. government shutdown since 2018-2019, when funding lapsed for five weeks during Trump's first term, including over the New Year period.