Gold Trading Down Despite Jump in U.S. Unemploymt to Highest COMMODITIES: Gold Trading Down Despite Jump in U.S. Unemployment to Highest in Nearly 80 Years
09:15 AM EDT, 05/08/2020 (MT Newswires) -- Gold prices fell early on Friday despite a weaker dollar as investors added rise, pushing stocks higher even as the United States reported its unemployment rate in April rose the highest since the Great Depression.
Gold for June delivery was last seen down US$9.90 to US$1,715.90 per ounce in Comex electronic trade.
The drop came after the United States reported its unemployment rate rose to 14.7% in April, the highest since the early 1930s, with more than 20 million people losing their jobs as coronavirus quarantines shuttered factories and businesses. However the figure had been widely anticipated.
"This should no longer come as any great surprise in view of the weekly initial jobless claims and Wednesday's ADP data, so we do not expect any particularly marked response from the gold price," Carsten Fritsch, an analyst with Commerzbank, said in a note.
Stock markets in Europe and Asia were mostly higher and futures point to a higher open on U.S. exchanges, keeping cash out of gold's safe haven.
The U.S. dollar weakened, making the metal more affordable for international buyers. The ICE dollar index was last seen down 0.06 points to 99.83.