Gold Price Climbs Following U.S. Jobs Report

APMEX

12/7/2018 12:12:41 PM

Daily Gold & Silver Market Report – 12/7/2018

• Weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report boosts Gold.
• Platinum and Palladium prices up in early Friday trading.
• Interest in Silver could surge if spot price reaches $15.

Following new U.S. jobs numbers that were weaker than expected, February Gold futures went up 0.4 percent to $1,249.60 per ounce. The weakening U.S. dollar also helped boost Gold prices, with the WSJ Dollar Index showing the greenback down 0.1 percent Friday. Since Precious Metals are traded in American dollars, Gold investing becomes more cost-effective for international buyers when the dollar is weak. The Wall Street Journal also states the shaky jobs report supports the opinion that the Federal Reserve should decrease the frequency of interest rate hikes.
Last month, 155,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy, falling below the 190,000 forecast economists made. The unemployment rate did not improve, staying at October’s 3.7 percent. To some, these numbers suggest the beginnings of an economic slowdown, which could lead to increased interest in safe-haven investments, including Precious Metals. However, CIBC Private Wealth Management CIO David Donabedian told the New York Times, “It’s obviously an economy that is well in expansion mode, but that is coming off the boil after a strong second and third quarter. So the state of the job market is good. It’s just that the pace of job creation is slowing a little bit.”

Gold Aiming for Best Weekly Gains Since August

In early trading Friday, Gold prices were poised to achieve the most significant weekly gains since August. The market has presented many challenges for Gold in the last five months, including several stock market declines and a strong-but-unsteady U.S. dollar. While this week's gains have been greeted with open arms by many analysts, others are more hesitant. MarketWatch points out this weekly gain “has left some analysts unimpressed against a backdrop that saw a sharp selloff in global equities, a fall in the U.S. dollar and bond yields, and investors begin to scale back expectations for future interest-rate increases by the Federal Reserve." Prices for Silver, Platinum and Palladium were also up Friday morning, as of 10:00 a.m. (ET).

Interest in Silver Remains Sluggish

While Silver has seen some upward action in recent weeks, it struggles to find widespread interest from new investors. Andrew Hecht, a commodities analyst for SeekingAlpha, observes Silver can “go to sleep” from time to time, for long periods. However, he suggests prices could exceed $15 per ounce in 2019. If it does, new interest could be drummed up for the Precious Metal. Hecht adds, “With Silver trading in the middle of its trading range and sleeping, it may just be resting before it decides if 2019 will be the year that it breaks its bearish trading pattern or moves to the lowest level in a decade.”

At 12:15 p.m. (ET), the APMEX Gold and Silver spot prices were:

• Gold, $1,247.20 Up $6.30
• Silver, $14.65 Up $0.13
• Platinum, $791.00 Down $0.60
• Palladium, $1,223.00 Up $27.10

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