Gold jumps on this morning’s U.S. jobs report, with spot gold gaining over $40 an ounce. This gain adds to the yellow metal’s rise earlier Friday, as it shrugged off renewed tensions between the U.S. and Iran, and headed for its best week since January.
This morning’s depressed jobs report renewed gold’s shine. An unexpected decline in jobs during July, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, gives support to maintaining the current interest rate which had been forecasted to rise at the next Fed meeting in September. Nonfarm payrolls fell by 23,000 for the month, compared to the Dow Jones consensus forecast of a gain of 83,000.
December gold futures slipped $5.60 Thursday to settle at $4,299.60 an ounce on Comex, though the front-month contract increased 4.7% in the first four days of the week. Bullion rose 1.7% in July, its first monthly increase since February, after sliding 12% in June and dropping 0.8% in May. It decreased 7% in the first half of 2026 after rallying 64% last year. The December contract is currently up $117.20 (+2.73%) an ounce to $4416.80 and the DG spot price is $4353.90.
Exchange-traded funds in China extended their longest streak of inflows since March, Bloomberg reported, bolstering the weekly rally.
In economic news, the private payrolls report from ADP missed expectations in July, according to data released Wednesday. The report showed private companies added just 44,000 jobs in July, less than the 95,000 in June and consensus estimate of 75,000.
The state of the labor market is likely to influence monetary policy set by the Federal Reserve in the coming months. The war in Iran has boosted oil prices and inflation, leading to expectations of at least one rate increase this year. Interest rate hikes are typically bearish for gold, making it a less attractive alternate investment.
The Fed last week held interest rates steady at 3.5% to 3.75% but dissenters signaled growing support for a rate hike in 2026. About 55% of investors tracked by the CME FedWatch Tool are betting on rates remaining upchanged at the Fed’s next policy meeting in September, with the rest anticipating a 25 basis point rate hike. That’s a mirror image flip from yesterday, when over 55% were betting on a rate hike. The Fed has kept interest rates unchanged this year after three previous rate cuts.
Fed Governor Lisa Cook said Wednesday she’s ready to support a rate hike unless interest rates improve. She was one of the supporters of keeping rates unchanged last week. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, who voted for a rate hike last week, said Wednesday that he still believes an increase is necessary.
Front-month silver futures fell 1.1% Thursday to settle at $61.61 an ounce on Comex, though the September contract climbed 6.6% in the first four days of the week. The most-active contract touched a record above $115 in January. Silver slid 3.6% in July after declining 21% in June and gaining 2.5% in May. It lost 15% in the first half of 2026 after rising 141% last year. The September contract is currently up $2.949 (+4.79%) an ounce to $64.555 and the DG spot price is $64.24.
Spot palladium slipped $1.00 Thursday to $1,373.00 an ounce, though it advanced 6.5% so far this week. Palladium added 5.8% last month after dropping 11% in June and losing 12% in May. It retreated 25% in the first half of 2026 after rising 74% last year. Currently, the DG spot price is up $8.60 an ounce to $1387.00.
Spot platinum dropped 0.6% Thursday to $1,727.30 an ounce and rose 3.9% so far this week. Platinum gained 6.6% last month after tumbling 19% in June and dropping 3.2% in May. Platinum slid 23% in the first half of 2026 after increasing 122% in 2025. The DG spot price is currently up $28.00 an ounce to $1757.90.
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