(Kitco News) - The gold market is testing resistance at $2,350 an ounce as slack in the U.S. labor market starts to grow as the number of jobs available drops to its lowest level since May 2021.
Job openings, a measure of labor demand, dropped to 8.06 million as of the last day of April, down from March’s 8.49 million, the Labor Department said in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, on Wednesday.
The number of jobs available was significantly weaker than expected, as economists expected it to drop to 8.37 million.
“Over the month, both the number of hires and total separations were little changed at 5.6 million and 5.4 million, respectively,” the report said. “On the last business day of April, the number of job openings changed little at 8.1 million; this measure was down by 1.8 million over the year.
The gold market is struggling to break above $2,350 an ounce; however, analysts have said weak labor market data should provide some support for prices as it eases some pressure on the Federal Reserve to maintain its aggressive monetary policy.
August gold futures last traded at $2,345.80 an ounce, down 1% on the day.
