(Kitco News) -Spot gold prices are holding relatively steady in negative territory even as private-sector jobs grew more than expected in October, according to private-payrolls processor ADP.
Wednesday, ADP said that 571,000 jobs were created last month, significantly beating expectations; consensus forecasts were calling for job growth of around 400,000.
"The labor market showed renewed momentum last month, with a jump from the third quarter average of 385,000 monthly jobs added, marking nearly 5 million job gains this year. Service sector providers led the increase and the goods sector gains were broad-based, reporting the strongest reading of the year. Large companies fueled the stronger recovery in October, marking the second straight month of impressive growth," said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP.
However, the latest employment data is having little impact on gold prices, even as the market sees some selling pressure. Spot gold last traded at $1,785 an ounce, down 0.15% on the day.
According to some analysts, the latest jobs report will add to expectations that the Federal Reserve will announce a reduction of its monthly bond purchases later this afternoon following its monetary policy meeting.
Some economists expect that this is the start of a more significant trend in the U.S. labor market.
"The job market is revving back up as the Deltawave of the pandemic winds down. Job gains are accelerating across all industries, and especially among large companies. As long as the pandemic remains contained, more big job gains are likely in coming months," said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics, in reaction to the latest data.
Some market analysts have noted that gold is not reacting to the latest employment numbers because markets have already priced in the Fed's tapering plan.
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