(Kitco News) - The gold market continued to hold initial support above $2,650 an ounce but remains under pressure, even as the U.S. labor market slows, with fewer-than-expected private sector jobs created in November, according to private-sector payroll processor ADP.
On Wednesday, ADP reported that 146,000 jobs were created last month. The data slightly missed expectations, as consensus forecasts anticipated job gains of 152,000.
October’s employment figures were also revised lower to 184,000, down from the initial estimate of 233,000.
“While overall growth for the month was healthy, industry performance was mixed,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, in the report. “Manufacturing was the weakest we've seen since spring. Financial services and leisure and hospitality were also soft.”
Gold prices moved off their lows in the initial reaction to the latest employment report; however, the market remains in a broad consolidation pattern. February gold futures last traded at $2,663.30 an ounce, down 0.16% on the day.
Although headline job gains fell last month, the report highlighted a slight improvement in wages.
For workers who stayed in their jobs, annual wages increased by 4.8% in November, the report said.
“Year-over-year pay gains for job-stayers edged up for the first time in 25 months,” the report noted.
Meanwhile, for workers who changed jobs in November, their annual wages rose by 7.2%.
