(Kitco News) - The gold market continues to see significant selling pressure, and further resilience in the U.S. labor market is keeping prices at session lows.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 219,000 for the week ending March 29, the Labor Department announced on Thursday. The number was below expectations, as consensus estimates had forecast an unchanged reading of 225,000 claims.
The gold market is not seeing much reaction to the latest employment data, as it continues to digest President Donald Trump’s new tariff policies that were announced Wednesday.
According to some analysts, the gold market is experiencing selling pressure as the precious metal has been excluded from the President’s tariffs. This has ended an arbitrage opportunity that saw millions of ounces flow into New York vaults since mid-November.
Looking ahead, analysts have also said that resilient employment data could contribute further to gold’s headwinds, as it forces the Federal Reserve to maintain its current neutral stance. The U.S. central bank has said that it is in no hurry to cut interest rates, as inflation pressures remain elevated and the U.S. labor market remains relatively healthy.
Looking at long-term trends, 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 223,000, down 1,250 claims from last week’s revised average of 224,250.
While the number of Americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits remains fairly stable, workers are finding it more difficult to get back into the labor market. Continuing jobless claims, which represent the number of people already receiving benefits, jumped to 1.903 million during the week ending March 22, up by 56,000 from last week’s revised level of 1.856 million claims.
“This is the highest level for insured unemployment since November 13, 2021, when it was 1,970,000,” the report said.
