(Kitco News) - Spot gold prices briefly hit record highs even as activity in the U.S. labor market remains fairly stable with the number of jobs available holding near elevated levels.
Job openings, a measure of labor demand, dropped to 8.86 million as of the last day of January, the Labor Department said in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, on Wednesday.
However, the number of jobs available was slightly stronger than expected as economists were expecting to see a drop to 8.80 million. At the same time, December’s data was revised down to 8.89, compared to the initial estimate of 9.03 million.
“Over the month, the number of hires and total separations were little changed at 5.7 million and 5.3 million, respectively,” the report said.
The gold market briefly touched a new record high in initial reaction to the employment data but was unable to hold those gains and has fallen back within its daily channel. Spot gold last traded at $2,142.60 an ounce, up 0.72% on the day.
