Gold jumps B400 on dismal US jobs data

The Gold Traders Association this morning announced the buying prices at 19,222.88 baht per baht-weight for gold ornaments and 19,500 baht per baht-weight for gold bar.

The selling prices were set at 20,000 baht per baht-weight for gold ornaments, and19,600 baht per baht-weight for gold bar. 

The prices rose 400 baht from yesterday’s close. 

The buying prices closed on Friday at 18,828.72 baht per baht-weight for gold ornaments and 19,100 baht per baht-weight for gold bar. 

The selling prices closed at 19,600 baht per baht-weight for gold ornaments, and 19,200 baht per baht-weight for gold bar.

Bloomberg reported from New York on Saturday gold investors are finding some glimmer of hope in the dimming outlook for the US jobs market.

Bullion gained for the first time in six sessions as US payrolls rose less than expected in September and wages stagnated, signalling that the global slowdown and financial-market turmoil is rippling through the US economy.

The government figures on Friday weaken the case for the Federal Reserve to raise US interest rates this year for the first time since 2006.

Gold futures posted five straight quarterly declines, the longest slump since 1997, as the outlook for tighter monetary policy prompted investors to favour assets with better yield prospects. The employment data underscore the view of Fed policy makers who kept rates unchanged in September, citing international risks that threaten to dent growth and depress inflation. Higher rates dim the appeal of the metal because it doesn’t pay interest.

• US job growth slows in September; jobless rate 5.1%

“The jobs report is causing people to reassess the long-term outlook for US unemployment,” Phil Streible, a senior market strategist at RJO Futures in Chicago, said. “That may result in the Fed not raising rates beyond the anticipated one time this year. They may even question whether the Fed would even raise rates this year.”

Gold futures for December delivery rose 2.1% to settle at $1,136.60 an ounce at 1.41pm on the Comex in New York, the biggest increase since Aug 20. Prices fell 3.5% in the previous five sessions as concern mounted that a strengthening US economy would spur the Fed to tighten monetary policy this year.

The addition of 142,000 jobs in the US followed a revised gain the prior month that was lower than previously estimated, a government report showed Friday.

The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 201,000 advance. The jobless rate held at 5.1%.

On Oct 1, investors holdings in exchanged-traded funds backed by gold climbed 1.9 tonnes to 1,532.06 tonnes, the most since July 30.

In the payrolls report, “the September number was lower and revisions to the prior month weren’t even there,” Alfonso Esparza, a senior currency analyst at OANDA in Toronto, said. “It gives the yellow metal a bit of a breather and lets it go higher. Now it seems less likely they’ll make a move in 2015.”