Gold Jumps as Weak US Jobs Data Adds Fuel to Bullion’s Rebound
Gold jumped more than 3% after an unexpected contraction in the US jobs market, extending a rebound from its slump below $4,000 an ounce.
Prices rose as much as 3.1% to $4,371.93 an ounce, hitting the highest since mid-June. Data showed US employers cut jobs in July and hiring in the prior two months was revised lower, suggesting the labor market is weaker than previously thought.
The soft jobs data is likely to partially allay worries that the Federal Reserve will soon move to raise interest rates, which would be a headwind for gold as an asset that bears no interest. A Bloomberg gauge of the dollar slumped as much as 0.5% after the data, giving a boost to commodities like gold that are priced in the currency.
The jobs report helped extend bullion’s weekly gain to more than 7%, the most in more than six months, with dip-buyers emerging in growing force since a slump that took gold into a bear market in June.
Friday’s advance also signals that gold buyers were little moved by the ratcheting tensions in the Middle East. Local media reported that Iran struck “hostile targets” in Hormuz and would seek to bar US and Israeli vessels from passing through. Separately, Houthi militants said they conducted a “large-scale” attack against forces from Yemen’s Saudi-backed government.
