Gold weakens after Nonfarm Payrolls show US labor market in good health
NEW YORK (October 4) Gold (XAU/USD) weakens almost half a percent into the $2,640s on Friday as traders sell the asset and the US Dollar strengthens on the back of strong US labor market data. The US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report for September showed an improvement in almost all metrics, including payrolls themselves, the Unemployment Rate and average hourly earnings.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report showed a rise of 254K new employees joined the US workforce in September, which was higher than the upwardly-revised 159K in August, and beat estimates of 140K.
The US Unemployment Rate, meanwhile, fell to 4.1%, which was below the 4.2% of August, and the 4.2% expected.
Average Hourly Earnings in the US, meanwhile, rose 4.0% annually from a revised-up 3.9% in August and was above expectations of 3.8%.
On a monthly basis Average Hourly Earnings rose/fell by 0.4% from the upwardly-revised 0.5% MoM in August and was above the 0.3% forecast by economists.
The data indicates the US labor market is in much better shape than expected and means the Federal Reserve (Fed) is less likely to implement a double-dose 50 basis points (bps) (0.5%) rate cut at the November meeting. This in turn, is negative for non-interest paying Gold, as it increases the opportunity cost of holding the yellow metal vis-a-vis other assets.
Gold benefits from safe-haven demand
Gold may see downside limited, however, by support from safe-haven flows due to concerns about an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. Israel is widely expected to launch an imminent retaliatory attack on Iran for its bombardment on Tuesday evening. Iran launched around 200 missiles, many of them ballistic, to avenge the death of Hassan Nasrallah, the head of the Iran-backed group Hezbollah.
The yellow metal is further supported by the overall trend lower in global interest rates, which enables Gold to retain its attractiveness as a portfolio asset for investors.
FXStreet
