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Gold prices remain weak as U.S. weekly jobless claims rise by 16K
(Kitco News) - Continued volatility in the U.S. labor market is not having much impact on gold as more American workers than expected applied for first-time unemployment benefits.
Thursday the U.S. Labor Department said that weekly jobless claims increased by 16,000 to 351,000, up from the previous week’s revised estimate of 332,000 claims. Economists were expecting weekly jobless claims to a new pandemic low at 322,000 claims.
The four-week moving average for new claims – often viewed as a more reliable measure of the labor market since it flattens week-to-week volatility – fell to 335,750, an drop of 750 claims from the previous week.
The latest labor market data is not having much impact on gold, which is seeing some renewed selling pressure following what economists described as a slightly hawkish Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting Wednesday. December gold futures last traded at $1,771 an ounce, down 0.44% on the day.
Continuing jobless claims, which represent the number of people already receiving benefits, were at 2.845 million during the week ending Sept. 11 , an increase of 131,000 from the previous week’s revised level.
