(Kitco News) - The gold market continues to see some technical selling pressure and is largely ignoring U.S. labor data showing the number of Americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits hitting a six-week high.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 223,000 for the week ending Jan. 18, the Labor Department announced on Thursday.
The number was slightly above expectations, as consensus estimates forecasted a reading of 221,000 claims. The previous week’s figure was unrevised at 217,000.
The gold market is not seeing much reaction to the latest labor market data after it was unable to break initial resistance at $2,750 in overnight trading. Spot gold last traded at $2,735.70 an ounce, down 0.73% on the day.
Meanwhile, 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 – came in at 213,500, increasing by 750 claims from last week’s unrevised average.
While the number of Americans getting first-time benefits remains fairly stable, the report shows that the already unemployed are having trouble entering the labor market.
Continuing jobless claims, which represent the number of people already receiving benefits, increased by 46,000 to 1.974 million, up sharply from the previous week’s revised data of 1.853 million.
“This is the highest level for insured unemployment since November 13, 2021, when it was 1,974,000,” the report said.
Some economists have said that investors should pay attention to continuing claims as it could be a sign of growing weakness in the labor market.
