GOLD DROPS SWIFTLY ON JOBS REPORT
This week saw relatively flat Gold prices until today’s release of the February jobs report, which proved to be better than expected. The report shows 236,000 jobs added to the workforce in February, with the unemployment rate falling to 7.7 percent. The United States Federal Reserve has been very vocal regarding the correlation between their monetary easing program and the unemployment rate. With the positive jobs report, there is speculation that the Fed may start decreasing the easing and in turn cause a drop in Gold’s market value.
As the employment report led to an unexpected rise in stocks, it is just part of a wave of positive economic news. The stock market has rallied to pre-recession levels, both China and Japan have beaten their fourth quarter estimates on gross domestic product, and the outlook for the global marketplace has improved. “This is a uniformly strong report that’s going to be supportive of economic growth and the markets,” Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist at RidgeWorth Capital Management in Richmond, Virginia, said by telephone. His firm oversees about $48 billion. “Bull markets need care and feeding, and this is the kind of report that is a healthy dose of good news. More jobs mean more income, which means more spending.”
At 9:00 am (EDT), the APMEX precious metals spot prices were:
- Gold, $1566.80, Down $10.30.
- Silver, $28.56, Down $0.30.
- Platinum, $1595.40, Down $1.70.
- Palladium, $768.80, Up $10.70.
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