(Kitco News) - The gold market continues to hold support near $3,300 an ounce but is struggling to find consistent bullish momentum as the U.S. labor market remains fairly stable.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits came in at a seasonally adjusted 227,000 for the week ending May 17, the Labor Department announced on Thursday, a decrease of 2,000 from last week’s unrevised level of 229,000. The number was slightly lower than expectations, as consensus estimates had forecast a reading of 230,000 claims.
Spot gold last traded at $3,305.30 an ounce, down 0.25% 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 smooths out week-to-week volatility, came in at 231,500, only slightly higher than last week’s unrevised average of 230,500.
Continuing jobless claims, which represent the number of people already receiving benefits, stood at 1.903 million for the week ending May 10, up from the previous week’s revised average of 1.867 million.
