(Kitco News) - The gold market continues to trade at its highest level in 10 sessions, as the U.S. labor market remains more resilient than expected, according to private-sector payrolls processor ADP.
On Wednesday, ADP announced that 62,000 jobs were created in March. The report was better than expected, as consensus forecasts called for job gains of 41,000. February’s figure was revised slightly higher to 66,000 jobs, compared to the initial estimate of 63,000.
“Overall hiring is steady, but job growth continues to favor certain industries, including health care,” said Dr. Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP. “In March, this solid performance was accompanied by a boost in pay gains for job-changers.”
Although the gold price is off from its overnight session highs, it continues to hold solid gains above $4,700 an ounce in its initial reaction to the positive labor market data. Spot gold last traded at $4,729.30 an ounce, up more than 1% on the day.
The report also noted that annual wages were relatively mixed as paychecks for workers who stayed in their jobs have remained unchanged for three consecutive months. Meanwhile, workers who changed jobs saw their annual pay increased to 6.6%.
