(Kitco News) Gold fell below the $1,800 an ounce level after the U.S. July employment data surprised on the upside.
U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose by 943,000 in July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The monthly figure was well above the market consensus estimate of 870,000. The June data was also revised up to 938,000 positions added.
The U.S. unemployment rate also dropped to 5.4%, beating market consensus calls for a decline to 5.7% in July. The number of unemployed also dropped to 8.7 million in July. But that is still well above the 5.7 million number reported in February 2020.
“These measures are down considerably from their highs at the end of the February-April 2020 recession. However, they remain well above their levels prior to the coronavirus pandemic,” the report noted.
Sectors with the majority of the job gains were leisure and hospitality, local government, and professional and business services.
For the rest of this article: https://www.kitco.com/news/2021-08-06/Gold-price-drops-below-1-800-as-U-S-job-numbers-beat-expectations-in-July-with-943k-positions-added.html