GoldPrice

Happy Friday traders, quite a start to the day (and end to the week) that we’re seeing. At the time of writing, just after the release of more lackluster PMI data (this time for the service sector of the US economy,) gold prices have ridden a healthy bid following the April Jobs Report and are now looking to retake the $1280/oz level to close the week.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report on Friday indicating that nonfarm employment rose by 263,000 jobs in April, well above the market expectation of 185,000.

The US Department of Labor has reported no change in the amount of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the week ended April 27 with 230,000 claims vs. 215-220,000 expected.

Today’s meeting left rates unchanged which was already assumed by the markets. Following the statement yields were down between 3 and 4 basis points after the Fed reiterated their stance of patience.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) released its Manufacturing ISM Report on Business on Wednesday, revealing that economic activity in the sector dipped from 55.3 in March to 52.8 in April, failing to meet market expectations of 55.

The private sector added 275,000 jobs in April vs. just 180,000 expected following the low figure of 129,000 the month before. While a slight uptick was expected, the steep surge in job growth points to unexpected health in the services industry.

The ISM-Chicago survey which measures business activity and presents a regional view of the economy fell sharply on Tuesday, dropping to 52.6 from 58.7 in March. The result is contrary to relatively flat expectations of a 0.03 gain.

Home prices continued to creep up at a modest pace in February with 4% gain compared to February 2018, down from 4.2% annual growth in January.

Good morning traders, welcome to a very crowded preview of the week ahead’s macroeconomic calendar. After holding up well in Sunday evening trading, gold prices are down roughly $5 from last week’s close as we begin Monday’s US session.

This week has been very back-loaded for gold traders. After spot prices spent the first half of the week flirting with new lows beneath $1270/oz, Thursday and Friday’s gold trading—spurred on by some quietly concerning data on the US Economy—drew a decidedly upward trajectory that has lead to a break back above $1285.

Gold prices have risen on Friday, initially sinking into negative territory before climbing again following the report that US gross domestic product rose by an annual rate of 3.2% (0.8% for the three-month period) for the first three months of 2019. GDP growth greatly outperformed expectations of just 2%, but there are concerns that inventory-building contributed to growth which may not be sustainable.

Orders for new US durable goods saw the biggest increase in 8 months during March, although a decline in shipments points to decreased spending on equipment during Q1.