GoldPrice

Good morning, traders. Welcome to our weekly preview of the macroeconomic calendar, with a focus on those data points that are most relevant for precious metals and Dollar markets.

Happy Friday, traders; welcome back to our weekly market wrap on the last five trading days, focused on the events that mattered most to the precious metals and Dollar markets. Our trading this week was dominated by the brief and sudden escalation of tensions between the US and Iran, as well as the equally sudden cooling of the situation.

The US economy added 145,000 jobs in December vs. 160,000 expected, while the rate of unemployment remained at the 10-year low of 3.5% as expected. Growth in wages slowed on a monthly and annual basis.

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell below expectations last week with 214,000 applications vs. 220,000 expected. The rate of unemployment has remained flat at 3.5%, indicating ongoing strength in the labor market. However, while the market is capable of fuelling strong consumer spending, hiring may be slowing down.

The private sector added 202,000 jobs vs. just 150,000 expected in December according to ADP and Moody’s Analytics. Trade and construction led the growth in employment which was spread across many service industries. A further 160,000 positions are expected to be reported added to the labor market in Friday’s government nonfarm payrolls report.

Gold surged above a 7-year high on Tuesday before pulling back slightly, staying on highs following above-expectation results for the December ISM non-manufacturing PMI. The PMI rose to 55 last month from 53.9 the month before, beating forecasts of 54.5.

Good morning, traders. Welcome to our preview of the first full week of trading in 2020. As always, we’ll be talking a look at the macroeconomic data items on this week’s calendar that have the most relevance for traders of gold and other precious metals, as well as the US Dollar and its major trade partners.

Gold prices are trading near four-month highs, having gained well over $30 to the ounce this week. The yellow metal’s rise was spurred initially by an overall increase in demand throughout the commodities complex, and then slung higher by the sudden return of geopolitical tension to the economic narrative.

Good morning, traders; welcome to our final weekly preview of the year. As with last week, the macroeconomic calendar, the schedule is a bit uneven, and trading volume will be thin because of a federal/bank holiday in the middle of the week. Unlike last week, we do have a couple meaningful points on the docket, and both of them fall on Friday.

Happy holiday Friday, traders. Welcome to our appropriately brief recap of the week in the precious metals market. Gold prices are at a 7-week high in today’s very light trading, while silver looks poised for a possible move back above $18/oz; all in spite of a general risk-on mood in global markets that has seen the major US equity markets continue to reach new (if still uninspiring) highs.

Happy holidays, traders! Welcome to the start of our two shortened trading weeks to end 2019 and roll into 2020. News flow and data releases will be minimized this week (and next) with the bank holidays falling mid-week. During the start of US trading sessions between now and January 6, it’s helpful to remember that the majority of London-based traders are offline and so market liquidity will be particularly low during those hours.

Happy Friday, traders; welcome to our regular Friday recap of the week’s macroeconomic data and headlines that mattered most to the precious metals and Dollar markets. And the final full trading week of 2019, at that!