AGE Daily Gold Update

AGE Daily Gold Update presents a recap on today's action in the precious metals markets. View archives.

11/1/2024: Gold flat after weak jobs data

Source: Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin — New York spot gold was nearly flat, inching up 30 cents to close just under $2,741, after initial gains from an extremely weak jobs report were neutralized by rebounds in Treasury yields and the dollar. Bullion ended the week less than 0.1% lower. Silver slid 0.5% to finish at $32.48, posting a weekly decline of 3.3%.

The government's nonfarm payrolls report showed merely 12,000 jobs added in October, the fewest since December 2020, with the overall unemployment rate holding at 4.1%. Totals for August and September were revised lower by 112,000 jobs.

While astonishingly weak, the latest jobs report carried some mitigating factors. Strikes in the aerospace industry lowered employment in manufacturing while hurricanes shortened the collection time for data, making its reliability questionable.

Gold immediately rose while yields and the dollar fell on the data. But all three trades quickly reversed direction once traders digested the possible reasons for the poor totals. Benchmark 10-year yield rebounded to a four-month high above 4.3%. The dollar added 0.2% against major rivals.

Still, Fed fund futures traders raised the odds of a quarter-point rate cut next week to 100%, up from 91% before the payrolls report was published.

Beyond the prospect of lower interest rates, bullion remains solidly supported by safe-haven demand ahead of next week's potentially tumultuous US elections and expectations that Iran will launch retaliatory strikes against Israel.

Platinum lost less than 0.1% today but 3.2% for the week. Palladium dropped 0.3% for a weekly loss of 7.8%.

At the New York spot close: gold added 30 cents, to $2,738.60; silver slipped 17 cents to $32.48; platinum dipped 30 cents to $991.30; and palladium shed $2,80 to $1,108.80 an ounce.