Metals: Gold Falls After U.S. Employment Report
August 04 2017 - 9:33AM
Dow Jones News
By Ira Iosebashvili
Gold prices fell Friday, after a stronger-than-expected U.S.
employment report revived expectations of another Federal Reserve
rate increase this year.
Gold for December delivery was recently down 0.6% at $1,267.60 a
troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile
Exchange.
Nonfarm payrolls rose by a seasonally adjusted 209,000 in July
from the prior month, the Labor Department said Friday. The
unemployment rate ticked down to 4.3% from 4.4% the prior month as
more people joined the workforce. Economists surveyed by The Wall
Street Journal had expected 180,000 new jobs and a 4.3%
unemployment rate last month.
July's strong number likely forced some investors to take
profits on recent gains in the metal, said Peter Hug, director of
metal sales at Kitco Metals.
Gold prices are up around 7% this year, lifted in part by
expectations that the Fed will take a gradual path toward
tightening monetary policy. Higher rates tend to weigh on gold,
which struggles to compete with yield-bearing investments when
borrowing costs rise.
Mr. Hug, however, believes the central bank is unlikely to move
until it sees evidence of inflation returning to the economy.
In base metals, September copper rose 0.4% to $2.8880 a
pound.
Write to Ira Iosebashvili at ira.iosebashvili@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 04, 2017 09:18 ET (13:18 GMT)
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