GoldPrice

Good morning, traders. Welcome to our weekly preview of the macroeconomic data and market data that are positioned to matter the most for gold markets and related assets. Gold prices are trading a few dollars higher this morning, following some volatile moves between $1568-75 during the overnight.

Good morning, traders. Welcome to our weekly preview of the stories, events, and economic data on our radar this week that could have the biggest impact on gold its correlated markets. With the dominant narrative for global markets still coming out of China at the start of the week, wheels are already turning so we’ll jump right into the coverage.

The labor market remained in good health throughout the first month of 2020 with 225,000 new jobs added vs. expectations of just 164,000. Average hourly earnings rose, as did the rate of unemployment, although this remains near historic lows.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits hit the lowest point in nine months last week, pointing to ongoing strength in the labor market. Claims for the week ended February 01 dropped to 202,000 vs. 215,000 expected.

The services sector saw increased activity in January, pointing to ongoing moderate economic growth. Growth in services was led by increases in new orders, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), with the ISM non-manufacturing index coming in at 55.5.

Private sector employment in the US greatly exceeded expectations in January according to the latest ADP employment report. 291,000 jobs were added vs. just 156,000 expected for the first month of 2020.

Good morning, traders. Welcome to our weekly preview of the stories, events, and economic data on our radar this week that could have the biggest impact on gold its correlated markets. With the dominant narrative for global markets still coming out of China at the start of the week, wheels are already turning so we’ll jump right into the coverage.

Happy Friday, traders; welcome to our market wrap on the week in gold and related markets. Despite a solid docket of macroeconomic data, this week’s trading was dominated by headlines around the assessment and containment of China’s concerning coronavirus and the lasting impact it could have on global growth. Alongside some fearful headlines, the FOMC delivered a mild surprise to markets mid-week, creating some more upside range for gold prices in the near- to medium term as well.

Despite a tight labor market and an unemployment rate at a 50-year low of 3.5%, wages and benefits for American workers haven’t seen much growth. The employment cost index rose 0.7% in Q4 of 2019 according to a report released by the Bureau of Statistics on Friday, in line with expectations. Annually, the pace of wages and benefits growth slowed to 2.7% from 2.9%.

Personal income rose 0.2% in December, continuing a trend of steady growth in spending amid a robust labor market. Personal-consumption expenditures, or PCE, rose 0.3% last month. Expectations for both personal income and PCE were set at 0.3%.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits hit near expectations last week, dropping 7,000 to 216,000. Claims for the previous week were revised higher by 12,000 applications, and the four-week average remains low.

Economic growth in the final quarter of 2019 came in at 2.1% as expected, with the relatively weak result showing the impact of the trade war between the US and China. Annually, the economy grew at 2.3%, lower than figures seen in 2018 and 2017.