The latest jobs report released on Friday suggested that December hiring remained stable.
December’s rate unfortunately fell below the rate needed to reduce the unemployment figures to more reasonable levels, meaning the Federal Reserve will likely maintain its asset purchase program.
Gold will continue to be attractive as a safe-bet investment as the stimulus continues.
From CNBC:
“Investors think that the payroll report is still not enough to change the Fed’s accommodative policy, which is a positive for gold,” said Howard Wen, metals analyst at HSBC.
The news caused bullion to go up 1.5 percent, although spot gold dropped 0.6 percent to hit $1.653.60/oz. Futures for February were down to $1,648.90/oz.
Earlier in the day gold had fallen to a four-and-a-half month low after Fed minutes revealed uncertainty within the Fed about the stimulus program.
Gold has performed in close sync with the Fed’s moves, particularly as the Fed has explicitly linked its extremely loose monetary policy to the jobs numbers.
