(Kitco News) - The gold market continues to struggle with solid selling pressure as activity in the U.S. labor market remains relatively unchanged from last week.
Thursday, the U.S. Labor Department said that weekly jobless claims fell by 9,000 to 218,000 during the week ending Feb. 3, down from the previous week's revised estimate of 224,000 claims.
The number was roughly in line with the consensus forecast.
The gold market has seen solid selling pressure ahead of the North American trading session and the momentum has not changed in initial reaction to the latest labor market data. April gold futures last traded at $2,037.30 an ounce, down 0.69% on the day.
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 – rose to 212,250, up from the previous week's revised average of 208,500.
Continuing jobless claims, which represent the number of people already receiving benefits, fell to 1.871 million during the week ending Jan. 27, down by 23,000 claims above the previous week's revised level of 1.894 million.
