(RTTNews) – Gold fell on Thursday as a result of a surprisingly positive jobs report that pushed up the US Dollar. A strong dollar makes bullion more expensive for overseas buyers.
Front Month Comex Gold for July delivery ended down by $16.40 (or 0.49%) to $3,331.60 per troy ounce today. However, gold gained $57.90 (or 1.77%) for this trading week.
Front Month Comex Silver for July delivery ended up by 35.80 cents (or 0.98%) to $36.784 per troy ounce today. Silver gained 74.70 cents (or 2.07%) for this trading week.
The US Labor Department released the jobs data today.
US nonfarm payrolls rose by 147,000 in June, above forecasts of 110,000.
Jobs increased across government employment (+73,000), namely state government (+47,000).
Job additions were also seen in healthcare (+39,000) and social assistance (+19,000).
Job losses had occurred with federal government jobs (-7,000).
The US unemployment rate edged down to 4.1% in June contrary to expectations of an uptick to 4.3%.
Initial jobless claims in the US eased by 4,000 from last week to 233,000 for the week ending June 28.
This data hampered investors’ expectations that the US Fed would go in for a rate cut before their September meeting.
The “big, beautiful bill” created by the US President Donald Trump passed the Senate on Tuesday and is currently being debated in the House of Representatives and closer to becoming a law. This law would add a whopping $3.3 trillion to the national debt over the next decade.
Despite a trade war, immigration crackdown, budgetary concerns, ballooning national debt, and the recent 12-day Middle East war, the US jobs data indicated that the labor market is showing resilience.
On the geopolitical front, no adverse events have been reported in the Middle East and the truce brokered by Trump between Israel and Iran is holding.
The July 9 deadline set by Trump for tariff agreement is fast approaching but countries are already bracing to make concessions and sign deals.
Businesses are optimistic that the White House will find ways to settle new trade deals through negotiations with US trading partners.
The US Dollar moved up, Treasury Yields spiked, and US stocks traded in the positive territory as concerns of a slowdown in the economy are brushed away – at least for now. As a result, the safe-haven metal price turned lower.
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