Gold prices rose to near one-week highs on Thursday, on the back of a weaker U.S. dollar and lower yields after signs of labour market losing steam led investors to expect a super-sized rate cut from the Federal Reserve this month.

Commodities are often seen as a safer go-to investment than stocks during times of economic strife as they make up the base materials that fuel the engines of society, but according to Goldman Sachs, the current environment is risky for most popular commodities, and gold offers the best protection against the loss of value.

Gold traders are taking it easy on the first trading day of the week because there are a number of important economic events that will impact the precious metal price. The dollar index has shown strength in light of recent data, but gold traders are still very optimistic that gold prices will continue to move higher given that the precious metal has remained above important price points in the past week.