After the US jobs report in August fell, gold and silver prices increased and reached a 4-week high at the beginning of the US Friday trading session. However, both metals fell from the usual daily highs immediately after the report.
World gold price today increased by 19.87 USD at 1,829.34 USD/ounce. Comex silver increased by 0.80 USD to 24.69 USD/ounce.
Specifically, the US Department of Labor's employment report shows that the key non-farm payroll segment has increased by only 235,000 compared to the 720,000 increase expected by the market.
The unemployment rate was 5.2% in August - in line with expectations and compared to the unemployment rate of 5.4% seen in the July report. The non-farm payroll in July has been adjusted up significantly compared to a strong figure.
Katherine Judge, senior economist at the Royal Bank of Canada, said that ISM data and labor market data show that economic growth is slowing in the United States as the COVID-19 Delta variety sweeps through the country. However, she stressed that the delay may be temporary.
"Along with the disappointing August jobs report, this report also slows GDP growth in late 2021 compared to our previous forecast. However, this will be just a temporary detour to accelerate again in the spring because the Delta wave will then be behind us," she said.
Looking at the report's components, the Business Activity Index fell to 60.7%, down from 67% in July. At the same time, the new order index decreased to 63.2%, down from the old 63.7%.
Also last night, the global stock market had mixed fluctuations. US stock indexes opened slightly as the day-to-day trading session in New York began, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq forecasting near record highs.
The market today also saw the US Dollar Index increase slightly. Nymex crude oil futures are more stable and trading around $70.25/barrel. Meanwhile, the yield on the US 10-year Treasury note is at 1.3%.
