Gold Heads Down As U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Drop To 3-Week Lows
(Kitco News) - U.S. initial weekly jobless claims dropped down to 232,000 in the week to Saturday, marking the lowest level in three weeks, the Labor Department said.
The total was weaker than expected as market consensus called for the initial claims to drop to around 230,000. The government did not revise the prior week’s figures.
In an initial reaction to the weekly jobless claims data, June Comex gold futures began to decline, last seen at $1,349.70, down 0.28% on the day. Prior to the data release, gold prices were trading slightly lower, but the overall technical outlook was favoring the bulls.
“June gold bulls have the firm overall near-term technical advantage. Gold bulls' next upside near-term price breakout objective is to produce a close above solid technical resistance at the January high of $1,375.50,” Kitco’s senior technical analyst Jim Wyckoff said in his AM Roundup.
Meanwhile, the four-week moving average for new claims – often viewed as a more reliable measure of the labor market since it smoothens out week-to-week volatility – rose by 1,250 to 231,250 from the last week’s unrevised average of 230,000.
Continuing jobless claims, the number of people already receiving benefits and reported with a one-week delay, was down by 15,000 from the previous week’s revised level, standing at 1,863,000 during the week ending April 7, the report said. The four-week moving average increased by 6,750 to 1,858,750.
Traders monitor jobs data closely to gauge how aggressively the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee alters monetary policy.
By Anna GolubovaFor Kitco News
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