Gold futures prices close in a narrow range Friday (Feb. 4), pressured by the U.S. dollar appreciation and a rebound in U.S. Treasury bond yields after the U.S. released the nonfarm payrolls figure.
- Gold futures were up $3.70, or 0.2%, at $1,807.80 per ounce.
- Silver contracts were up 10 cents, or 0.5%, at $22.475 per ounce.
- Platinum was down $6.1, or 0.6%, at $1,024.20 an ounce.
- The palladium contract was down $27.00, or 1.2%, at $2,290.70 an ounce.
Gold prices briefly rebounded towards the end of the week to $1,815 ahead of Friday’s U.S. economic data release, but saw themselves back below $1,800 shortly after the economic numbers came in above expectations,
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, nonfarm payrolls rose by 467,000 in January. Analysts previously expected an increase of just 150k. The private sector has created 444,000 new jobs, while the government has created 23,000 new jobs.
However, the unemployment rate has continued to rise. In January, the unemployment rate rose to 4% from 3.9% the month before.
The labor force participation rate rose to 62.2% in January from 61.9% in December. This indicates that the number of people looking for work or actively working has increased slightly.
At the same time, average hourly employee wages increased by 0.7%.
Hourly wages are used by the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) as an indicator of inflation. Rising wages can be seen as long-term indicators of rising inflation because they are a long-term cost to businesses. Businesses face higher costs as a result of rising wages. This in turn leads to either consumer prices rising further or to so-called “shrinkflation”. This means that goods are sold for the same price but, for example, the portioning quantity is reduced.
Investors were previously on guard that the labor market numbers would prompt the Federal Reserve (Fed) to raise interest rates sooner than expected. Fed officials, however, want to back away from this move and not take any hasty action.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rises to 1.93%, its highest level since 2019. The increase came after the release of U.S. jobs data.
In addition, the U.S. dollar index rose by $0.3 to 95.597. Nevertheless, at the end of the week remains a drop of 1.7%, which is the largest decline since November 2020.
The Spot Market is Closed
Saturday, February 5, 2022
| Metals Updated at | USD Bid/Ask | Ounce Change | Low/High |
| Gold 05.00 | 1,808.40 1,809.40 | +3.80 0.21% | 1,791.30 1,815.90 |
| Silver 05.00 | 22.50 22.60 | +0.12 0.51% | 22.08 22.75 |
| Platinum 05.00 | 1,023.00 1,033.00 | -9.00 -0.87% | 1,009.00 1,046.00 |
| Palladium 05.00 | 2,228.00 2,378.00 | -40.00 -1.76% | 2,215.00 2,448.00 |
| Rhodium 05.00 | 15,800.00 17,800.00 | +50.00 0.32% | 15,800.00 17,800.00 |