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New York manufacturing activity in May recovered slightly from the stunning low seen the month before, which was twice as bad as the worst reading during the Great Recession. The index came in at -48.5 in May vs. -78.2 the month before, remaining deeply contracted. The latest reading was still far worse than the historic drop of the Great Recession, marking the second worst month in recorded history, and employment in manufacturing fell further.

Retail sales in the US saw the steepest monthly plunge in history, dropping below expectations for April. Sales fell 16.4% after dropping 8.3% the month before, beating an already dismal forecast of a 12% plunge. The coronavirus lockdown has dealt a major blow to the retail industry, with brick-and-mortar stores closed down nationwide. With tens of millions of Americans out of work, spending on non-essential items has fallen.

Initial jobless claims came in higher than expected in the week ended May 02, with 2.98 million claims vs. 2.5 million expected and 3.1 million the week before. Continuing claims, which measure the number of people receiving claims after an initial week of aid, came in at 22.8 million, 456,000 higher than the week before.

The Producer price index (PPI), which measures the inflation of prices paid by goods producers, fell 1.3% vs. a decline of 0.2% the month before and a drop of 0.5% expected. The drop in the PPI is the largest since records began in December 2009, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. On an unadjusted basis, the index fell 1.2%, the largest drop since unadjusted demand fell 1.3% in November 2015. Core PPI fell from 1.4% to 0.6%.

The parade of ugly US economic data for the month of April marched on this morning as CPI, the most commonly referenced marker for consumer price inflation, slowed slightly more than expected in the wake of the first full month of the current economic crisis.

Good morning, traders. Welcome to our regular Monday preview of the week ahead, focusing on the macroeconomic data and market narratives most likely to have an impact on gold prices, as well as the markets for the Dollar and other typically correlated assets.

Happy Friday, traders. Welcome back to our weekly market wrap, focusing on the week’s market events that mattered the most for gold prices, as well as the Dollar and other key correlated assets.

The US economy lost 20.5 million jobs in a single month, an unprecedented loss far worse than any seen in the nation’s history. The coronavirus pandemic has dealt a major blow to the labor market which was flourishing just a few months ago, with the rate of unemployment near a 50-year low.

Initial jobless claims figures show that an additional 3.16 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week. This came in slightly above expectations of 3 million. Claims are 677,000 lower than the week before, although still staggeringly high in historical terms. With the fifth consecutive week of reduced increases, the latest Labor Department report indicates that layoffs due to the coronavirus peaked in March and are now trending downwards.

Private sector employment shed 20,236,000 between March and April according to the April ADP National Employment Report. The report measures jobs lost between March 12 and April 12, the same period used by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Actual job losses during this period were much higher, and the NER measures private sector employment only.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) non-manufacturing production managers index (PMI) came in at 41.8 vs. 37.9 expected in April and compared to 52.5 the month before. While the reading was better than expected, the PMI is now at the lowest point in 11 years, since the end of the Great Recession. The non-manufacturing index, which measures activity in the services industry, has contracted for the first time since December 2009.

Good morning, traders. Welcome to our weekly preview of the next five trading days, with a focus on the economic data and market narratives most likely to impact the price of gold, as well as the Dollar and other correlated assets.